Growing America’s essential cotton crop
U.S. 棉花种植者依靠合作的专业知识从棉花作物中获得最大收益.
Corn, soybeans and wheat may take center stage in American agriculture, but cotton has earned a strong supporting role. 从t恤到卫生纸等等，它都是一种重要的纤维, cotton blankets our everyday lives.
要想真正发光，棉花需要明星待遇，需要整个季节的集约化澳门皇冠赌场平台. 从作物保护和应季施肥到辅助收获, 从开始到结束有效地澳门皇冠赌场平台棉花作物需要多种投入.
“棉花喜欢扔曲线球，”赛斯·伯德(Seth Byrd)说 Oklahoma State University Extension. “You can’t simply plant the crop and walk away. 如果没有适当的侦查和控制措施，害虫会迅速对棉花作物造成不可逆转的损害.”
Cotton partnerships at the co-op
“Many of our relationships with cotton producers are end to end,” says Jason Kroener, general manager of the CHS location based in Okarche, Okla. “Our agronomists help growers formulate crop plans, guide them through seed decisions, 根据植物状况和天气及时做出农艺决策, and ultimately see the crop through to the ginning process.”
与合作团队一起工作提供了决策的保证和讨论新想法和策略的声音板, says Nathan Kreutziger, a second-generation cotton producer in southwestern Oklahoma. “我依靠我的CHS农艺师在我的田地里充当另一双眼睛. 与一位值得信赖的澳门皇冠赌场平台家建立这种关系，让我对自己农场的澳门皇冠赌场平台决策充满信心.”
克鲁纳说，2020年3月，将红河轧棉机添加到CHS资产中，完成了与他的团队合作的棉花生产商的旅程. “收购轧棉机让我们进入了一个不同的作物市场. 在轧棉机之前，我们不能完全支持端到端的棉花循环. 现在我们是合作伙伴，从选择种子到开始的过程.”
Advances in cotton production
19世纪末轧棉机发明后，纺织业蓬勃发展. 但没过多久，棉铃象鼻虫等害虫就对棉花产量造成了影响. 为了减轻损失，引进了Bt棉花来控制虫害.
“More than 95% of cotton is now Bt-traited,” Byrd says. 这种增加的控制有助于减少一些作物保护的应用需求. Other agronomy advancements are also paying off for producers.
Four products in particular are showing great results in the field. Bollbuilder®提供微量营养素，帮助保持棉铃,” says William Russell, agronomy technical specialist, CHS. Levesol®锌是一种独特的螯合产品，可防止微量营养素与磷在土壤中捆绑. 螯合过程有助于土壤中微量元素和磷的吸收和植物生长.”
Adjuvants Level Best® and Tapran™ are good fits for use on cotton plants, says Mark Morris, the agronomy sales manager on the CHS team based in Okarche. “我们已经看到使用Level Best帮助棉花生产商控制杂草取得了巨大成功. Tapran提供更一致的干燥和落叶，更有效地收获.”
While seed traits and genomic research have advanced, too, the biggest shift has come in harvesting methods.
种植者可以选择两种类型的机器来收获他们的作物:摘棉机或剥棉机. Cotton pickers remove cotton from the boll, while cotton strippers pull off the entire boll, then separate the cotton from the boll.
Once cotton is free from bolls and unwanted vegetation, it is pressed into either a rectangle or round cotton module. A rectangle cotton module weighs about 18,000 pounds, 而一个圆形模块——由四个圆捆组成——重约20磅,000 pounds.
“传统的矩形棉花模块已经迅速转向圆形棉花模块,” Kroener says. 创建圆形模块可以让生产商更高效、更独立地运作, 不用担心收割时是否有足够的劳动力来完成工作.
“投资圆形模块机器对我的农场产生了很大的影响，”克罗伊茨格说. “Before using the round module builder, 在收获期间，我会有三到五台机器在我的田地里运行, which required that many people to operate those machines. 现在我可以保持圆形模块建设者运行只有一个人，我可以日夜运行，如果我需要.”
U.S. cotton producers positioned for success
国内的棉花工业在生产优质棉花方面一直处于领先地位.
“U.S. 棉花种植者处于新技术的前沿，”伯德说. “This places us in a competitive position in the global market, which in turn offers a profitable crop for producers to grow.”
As Kreutziger looks toward the future of his cotton operation, he is hopeful for consistent prices and stable markets. “There are lots of opportunities in cotton farming, but our success revolves around input costs and weather,” he says. “我的目标是继续生产棉花，让全世界都有衣服穿.”
The cotton ginning process
- 模块搬运工在田间拾取棉花模块并将其运送到轧棉机.
- Each module receives a number for tracking purposes; cotton from multiple farms will be ginned together in the order the modules were received.
- 塑料包装被从棉花模块上取下，棉花被“咀嚼”或弄松.
- 在整个轧棉过程中，棉花水分保持在一个一致的水平.
- 棉花通过清洗机清除毛刺、棒子和其他田间杂物.
- Seeds are separated from cotton fiber or lint.
- Raw lint is cleaned again.
- 棉绒被压成480磅的包，用塑料包起来出口.
- Cotton by-products are turned into cottonseed oil, livestock feed, mattress stuffing and other materials.
Check out the full Winter 2022 issue of C magazine with this article and more.