The Cotton Foundation Board of Trustees approved funding for 12 general projects totaling $202,000. Approved projects covered research and educational efforts related to pest management, sustainability, contamination detection, agronomic practices, regulatory issue information gathering, and education.
Under one of the general projects, “Enhancing Cotton Industry Education and Information Through the National Cotton Council Website,” the NCC was able to redesign its website, www.cotton.org.
Some Foundation member firms continued to provide grants over and above their dues to fund special projects. Among those was “Educational Outreach.” This new effort, supported by Monsanto, Bayer, Syngenta, Dow AgroSciences and Valent, enabled the NCC to conduct an outreach program on the issue of bee health and neonicotinoids for EPA staff at the Agricenter International facility in Memphis, Tennessee.
Through the Foundation, support also was maintained for vital NCC communications vehicles, including the Cotton’s Week newsletter. In addition, the Foundation’s underpinning of the NCC’s web server made it possible for the NCC to continue posting valuable educational materials, including streaming video, for industry members.