In this episode of the Alabama Crops Report, hosts Simer Virk and Scott Graham talk cotton planting with Josh Lee and Chandler Gruener. The good news is cotton prices are trending up. The bad news is the drought. However, there is still plenty of time to plant cotton and still make a good crop.

It seems like the overall morale right now is let’s go out and plant, which I’m all for it. But, we make some dang good cotton in May and June. It’s okay to wait. I would rather wait and make sure I get a good stand, and I don’t have to have a replant situation. So I think that’s definitely in your favor to wait just a second. We got a good, long growing season. – Josh Lee

The guys also discuss scouting for insects and proper equipment setup.

We did a lot of trials last year, and the amount of seeding rate issues we see with these planters — that’s just a kind of wasted money. Anytime we’re putting out extra seed, that dollar could have gone towards something else on the farm. So proper planter setup. I think that’s probably a key. Not just cotton, but every crop. Check your seed depth properly. We’ve talked to a lot of dealers around the state. Most of them offer seed meter testing. You can actually take your seed meters off, have them tested. It’s about 20 to $25 per meter. But trust me, that’s a really good investment. -Simer Virk

 

Season 6 Episode 8—Considerations for Cotton Planting Transcript