According to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service’s Crop Progress Report, 30% of the 2016 U.S. cotton crop had been harvested as of October 16 – ahead of the five-year average of 27%. Louisiana leads all states with 87% of its crop harvested as of that date, ahead of its five-year average of 81%.
The report revealed that 89% of the current U.S. crop had open bolls as of October 16. In the Southeast, Virginia leads all of that region’s states with 98% of the crop having open bolls. Alabama and Georgia are not far behind with 96% of their crops having open bolls. All Mid-South states, with the exception of Tennessee, have open bolls on 100% of their crops. In the Southwest, Kansas and Oklahoma are slightly behind their five-year averages with 75% and 85% of their respective crops having open bolls while Texas is slightly ahead of its five-year average with 84% open bolls. In the West, 98% of the crop in Arizona and 97% of the crop in California have open bolls.
Crop condition was slightly behind last year’s pace with 83% of the U.S. crop rated fair or better as of October 16, compared to 84% fair or better for the 2015 crop. At least 81% of the crop in all Mid-South states rated fair or better in terms of crop condition. Tennessee leads all states in the region with 97% of the crop rated fair or better followed closely by Mississippi’s 95%. Virginia leads all Southeast states with 96% of its crop rated fair or better. For most of the remaining Southeast states, with the exception of North Carolina, at least 83% of the crop rated fair or better. Only 65% of the crop in North Carolina rated fair or better. In the Southwest, 96% of the Kansas crop rated fair or better while 99% of Oklahoma’s crop and 81% of the Texas crop rated fair or better. In the West, 100% of the California crop and 92% of the Arizona crop rated fair or better.
NCC Mounting Support for Malathion Preservation
EPA has released a draft human health risk assessment for malathion with a comment period deadline of November 21, 2016.
In the review process, EPA has imposed new safety factors that essentially multiply the risk assessment for this insecticide. The inclusions of the additional safety factors were based predominantly on a controversial study of chlorpyrifos exposure estimates conducted by scientists at Columbia University. Although EPA has not been permitted access to the raw data, and EPA’s Science Advisory Panel has identified multiple flaws in the study, EPA has taken a position that the study raises questions that warrant the addition of new safety factors on all organophosphate pesticides.
The NCC has drafted a letter to EPA requesting an extension to the comment period and asking EPA to provide access to documents relevant to the draft risk assessment. The NCC also is urging EPA to recognize that malathion has and continues to be the sole product for the National Boll Weevil Eradication Program. The NCC states in the letter that the vast amount of material to review, some not yet posted to the federal docket for stakeholder access, requires careful study and time to brief industry stakeholders. Additionally, the NCC is urging EPA to recognize the extension is necessary to allow compilation of data highly relevant to the benefits component of malathion – both from the perspective of producer investment and federal appropriations – that has brought the U.S. cotton industry close to eradicating a devastating invasive pest.
The NCC will be circulating the letter to cotton interest associations and boll weevil eradication foundations asking them to approve the inclusion of their signatures to the extension request letter.
The NCC is urging recognition of the critical meaning of this review and malathion’s potential loss. Products once used to control the boll weevil since have been removed from the market by EPA. The loss of malathion would open the door for re-invasion of the boll weevil across the Cotton Belt, and producers would not have adequate products to protect yield.
Cotton Not Included in New Sulfoxaflor Registration
EPA issued a new registration for the pesticide sulfoxaflor for use on some vegetables, beans, tree nuts, pistachios, canola, wheat and barley. Conspicuously absent from the October 14-announced registration was a label for cotton and sorghum.
EPA said in its announcement that it “is registering sulfoxaflor for use only on crops that are not attractive to pollinators or for crop- production scenarios that minimize or eliminate potential exposure to bees. The registration is very protective of pollinators and includes fewer crops than were allowed under sulfoxaflor’s previous registration. For those crops that are included and that are bee attractive, sulfoxaflor will be allowed only post bloom, when bees are not expected to be present, and will not be allowed on any crops grown for seed, including turf.” Even though cotton doesn’t need bees for pollination, the EPA and bee groups argue that the blooms draw bees in, and because cotton blooms indeterminately, EPA argues there is no safe time to apply the product.
EPA also is prohibiting application if wind speeds exceed 10 mph and is requiring a 12-foot on-field buffer on the down-wind edge to protect bees from spray drift if there is blooming vegetation bordering the treated field. EPA is prohibiting tank mixing of sulfoxaflor with pesticides that have shown evidence of synergistic activity with sulfoxaflor.
The product was originally registered for cotton until a judge ruled in November 2015 in a lawsuit brought by activist groups that EPA had not fully considered enough information to be protective of bees. At that time, EPA issued a cancellation order and distributors were forced to dispose of or return their remaining stocks.
The NCC argues that there is sufficient evidence showing there is not a high risk to bees when used in cotton. (see 6/17/16 Cotton’s Week) The NCC will continue to work with the registrant and EPA to reacquire the use of sulfoxaflor for cotton as soon as possible.
EPA Postpones Glyphosate Review
EPA announced that it postponed the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) meeting to determine whether glyphosate causes cancer.
EPA said the review, scheduled for October 18-21, was postponed due to recent changes in the availability of experts for the peer review panel, and that “given the importance of epidemiology in the review of glyphosate’s carcinogenic potential, the Agency believes that additional expertise in epidemiology will benefit the panel and allow for a more robust review of the data. As a result, the SAP meeting on glyphosate is being postponed to later in 2016.”
EPA said it will issue another announcement once the new date for the SAP meeting on glyphosate has been determined.
EPA has published a white paper saying that glyphosate appears unlikely to cause cancer in humans. The NCC had submitted comments to EPA reiterating strong support for glyphosate’s re-registration, stating that cotton varieties tolerant to herbicides such as glyphosate have “revolutionized” cotton production and continue to serve as critical weed management products. (see 10/7/16 Cotton’s Week)
Updated Web Soil Survey Now Online
USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service recently released the latest version of its popular Web Soil Survey (WSS).
A web-based application, the updated WSS provides a wealth of soils information, data and soil survey maps – all free and downloadable. The new features and fixes, which can be viewed at http://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/NewFeatures.3.2.htm, include a “Use Quick Map” function that allows quicker map drawing with a fewer limitations. Other improvements and enhancements include:
• Internet Explorer v.11 is now the minimum standard for WSS. Chrome and Firefox also can be used;
• Area of Interest (AOI) now can be imported for use in WSS, along with field names to identify various parcels;
• Thematic maps created for the AOI that now can be downloaded using a WMS or a WFS service to use on local GIS software;
• AOI Download now contains thematic maps created during the session; and
• Scale Warnings are now displayed on the screen and on printed maps whenever the user zooms beyond the scale of mapping.
Information Share Conducted in Hong Kong
Cotton Council International (CCI) recently hosted an industry gathering in Hong Kong that brought together more than 50 leaders representing the entire cotton textile supply chain to exchange views on cotton supply chain updates and global sourcing patterns.
At the event, CCI: 1) introduced the latest marketing initiatives and new licensing guidelines to the participants, 2) updated them on upcoming promotional activities and 3) invited sourcing offices and mills to join events in Hong Kong and Dubai next year.
Among those cotton supply chain firms, including many COTTON USA licensees, which attended the event were: Aeon Topvalu, American & Efird, Clothing Industry Training Authority, CBX Software, Cotton Incorporated, Datsun Weaving, Destination XL, Essential Guide, Galvanin (Asia), Grand Star, ICC (Enfant), Inside Fashion, Kibai, Marks and Spencer, Messe Frankfurt, New Day Fashion, New Jersey, Pac-Fung Feather, Quiksilver, Sun Hing, Together Ltd, WeSource Company and Winmount.
Sales Surge, Shipments Lag
Net export sales for the week ending on October 13, were 355,700 bales (480-lb). This brings total 2016-17 sales to approximately 6.3 million bales. Total sales at the same point in the 2015-16 marketing year were approximately 3.7 million bales. Total new crop (2017-18) sales are 440,800 bales.
Shipments for the week were 136,500 bales, bringing total exports to date to 2.0 million bales, compared with the 1.2 million bales at the comparable point in the 2015-16 marketing year.
