Agricultural News
OSU's Seth Byrd Says Cotton Farmers Need to Be Strategic While Input Costs are High
Tue, 11 Jan 2022 12:05:20 CST
The 2021 Oklahoma cotton harvest is well over. Right now, cotton farmers and experts are waiting on recently harvested cotton to be classed. According to the latest report, about 350,000 bales of Oklahoma cotton have been classed, meaning cotton folks still have a way to go before they can see exactly what kind of crop they produced last year.
Seth Byrd, a cooperative extension cotton agronomist at Oklahoma State University, said that information helps farmers see how the tactics they employed paid off.
"That (information) always helps us understand, beyond yields, things that could have happened and whether that is related to a variety or selection, or if it something we can address going into the 2022 season," Byrd said.
Other than waiting for cotton to be ginned, farmers are also beginning to plan for the 2022 cotton planting season. In the past, some growers use this downtime to test soil and shop for fertilizers and other inputs. With input costs so high right now, Byrd suggests growers be as informed as they can be before purchasing inputs for the 2022 crop.
"The thought is, with prices the way they are maybe (folks) need to be more thorough with testing so they can be efficient in what they are applying," Byrd said. "If you did not pull a fall soil test, a lot of folks are doing those now."
Depending on the system a grower is in, Byrd said he often sees the start of herbicide application begin in March.
"Unless they are putting them out with a pivot, a lot of those herbicides will go out with tillage," Byrd said.
He said producers should ask themselves if and how they are going to prepare for the 2022 cotton crop planting season. If something changes, how will that affect their crop and what other tools can they employ to make up for an absence of a product.
Hit the LISTEN BAR below to hear KC Sheperd and Dr. Byrd on Cotton Talk on the Oklahoma Farm Report.
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