Thirteen cotton producers from Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas will see operations in Georgia on Aug. 7-11 as part of the 2011 NCC Producer Information Exchange (PIE) sponsored by Bayer CropScience via a grant to The Cotton Foundation.

The participants include: Kansas — Todd Tobin, Iuka; Oklahoma — Curtis Vap, Newkirk; Texas — Kevin Cave, Ackerly; Layne Chapman, Vernon; Justin Corzine, Stamford; Rex Henard, Wellington; Darren Jost, Garden City; Joe Matthiesen, Rowena; Jake Rieder, Sinton; Chase Street, Kress; Jason Svetlik, Port Lavaca; Charles Trompler, Malone; and Trey Weldon, III, Dimmitt.

The Southwest region producers began their tour on Aug. 7 with a briefing from Georgia Department of Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black.

They will tour Swift Spinning Mills, Inc., in Columbus and then tour RCL Farms and other cotton farms in the Bronwood area.

On Aug. 9, the group will see peanut shelling at McCleskey Mills in Smithville and utilization of automated machinery for product handling at Miller Brewing Company in Albany.

They will tour McLendon and Webb Farms in Leary, where they also will learn about irrigation in south Georgia.

Later, they will see cotton, peanut and sweet corn production at Pinecliff Peanut and Grain in Camilla and visit Funston Gin Company for a look at irrigated and dryland cotton production as well as pecan production and shelling.

On Aug. 10, the participants will see tillage equipment at Kelley Manufacturing Company in Tifton and Bayer CropScience’s CAP trials at the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie.

That afternoon, the group will learn about row and tree crop production at River Bottom Farms in Lakeland and about cotton production expansion in southeast Georgia at the Coffee County Gin in Douglas before visiting area cotton farms.

The tour concludes on the Aug. 11 with a visit to the Southeastern Gin Company in Surrency for a presentation on drip irrigation for cotton and peanut production and then tours of other cotton farms in the area.

In July, Mid-South producers travelled to California’s San Joaquin Valley, while Far West producers toured the Mid-South. Southeast producers will visit west Texas and south Texas on Aug. 21-26.

Upon completion of this year’s four tours, the PIE program will have exposed more than 900 U.S. cotton producers to innovative production practices in regions different than their own.