JUNE 2017 SEEDWORLD.COM / 35 research and seed and crop management being conducted today. “Three essential areas going forward are water-use efficiency, in-season traits and early-season protection,” Rivenbark says. “It’s universally accepted that we need to be smarter about how we use water in every area of our lives. “That also holds true in the cotton field. To help growers produce more cotton while using less water, FiberMax and Stoneville cottonseed varieties are bred for drought tolerance and water-use efficiency. To build on these native char- acteristics, we are researching a drought- tolerance trait.” While also working on new varietal traits, Americot is working to respond to another need of the cotton industry: an additional, affordable option for weed control, as some popular herbicides will not work in all situations. “The problem of weed resistance has taught the cotton industry that sometimes you have to go backward to move for- ward,” Littlefield says. “Cotton growers in the past couple of years have taken a step back and are once again concentrating of basic field preparation, such as using ‘yellow’ herbicides (trifluralins) early to get a good clean start. Littlefield acknowledges the major chemical companies, such as Monsanto, Bayer and BASF, have done a good job of re-educating growers on how to start clean and stay clean by using residual chemistries and other field preparation techniques to preserve and extend the life of new seed technologies. “We have to go back and do some of the things that once were done with conventional cotton to protect new tech- nologies while keeping weed escapes to a minimum,” he says. The Downstream Push The continued popularity of cotton as a utilitarian fabric and a viable field crop in the United States is largely the result of check-off dollars put to work by organi- zations such as The Cotton Board, the NCC and Cotton, Inc. Based in Memphis, Tenn., The Cotton Board is the oversight and administrative arm of the Cotton Research & Promotion Program, representing U.S. upland cotton. The Cotton Board is responsible for providing the program with strategic leadership and oversight of the economic resources devoted to the program. To fund the program, The Cotton Board collects a per bale assessment on all upland cotton harvested and ginned in the United States, as well as an importer assessment on the cotton content of all upland cotton products imported into the United States. The Cotton Board con- tracts with Cotton Inc. to carry out the research and promotion activities for U.S. producers and importers of cotton. While Cotton Inc. is consumer and trade focused, it is a charged function of The Cotton Board’s mission to keep U.S. producers and importers of cotton informed on the innovative developments stemming from the Cotton Research & Promotion Program. Cotton Inc.’s world headquarters and research center is located in Cary, N.C., and its consumer marketing headquarters is located in New York, N.Y. Supporting offices are located around the globe in Mexico City, Osaka, Shanghai and Hong Kong. These groups work night and day to ensure cotton continues to be “The Fabric of Our Lives.” SW Phone: (800) 418-9461 Email: conveyors@convey-all.com convey-all.com Phone: (800) 418-9461 Email: conveyors@convey-all.com At every step, Convey–All’s seed tenders, conveyors, and bulk systems deliver. YOU’RE IN THE SEED BUSINESS... SO ARE WE