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Growers considering enrolling in the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol or the Better Cotton Initiative sustainability-enhancement programs may be concerned about their third-party verification requirements. But, unlike with IRS audits or other intrusive activities, the third-party verification requirements can benefit farmers rather than cause more headaches, according to two producers who have participated in both programs. “On the Better Cotton Initiative or BCI side we’ve had a third-party verification, and it was painless,” said Jesse Flye, who farms in Poinsett County, Ark. “It’s not ...

Helping growers understand the importance of sustainability-enhancement programs. Nathan Reed and Jesse Flye have been doing their part to help educate clothing brand and retailer representatives about sustainable cotton production by inviting them to their farms and local gins. Now, they’re also lending their efforts to help growers better understand the importance of their participation in sustainability-enhancement programs like the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol and the Better Cotton Initiative. “Fortunately, I’ve been able through Cotton Incorporated, USDA and the National Cotton...

Many clothing brands and large retailers have set goals of obtaining 100% of their raw materials from suppliers who can document that they produce those fibers using environmentally sustainable practices. That should give cotton producers a leg up because they are providing a naturally grown fiber rather than one created in a manufacturing facility with petroleum products. But growers have to be able to back up their claims. “The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol is brand new,” said Nathan Reed, a cotton producer who farms in Lee and St. Francis Counties in Arkansas. “It was a program created ...

- Advertisement - LITTLE ROCK — Improving soil health is in the best interest of Arkansas cotton farmers, but producers use different strategies for doing so. Bill Robertson, extension cotton agronomist, and Matt Fryer, extension soil instructor, both with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, will moderate an online roundtable discussion with three Arkansas cotton producers about their experiences and methods for managing soil health in their farms. The discussion, “Soil Health in Arkansas: Is it Profitable?”, begins at 1 p.m. (CST) on Feb. 16. It is free and open ...