The Southern Cotton Ginners Association Annual Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 2 at 1:30 p.m. at The Peabody Hotel. Members from Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, and Tennessee will gather in the Venetian Room at The Peabody to hear the annual account of each state association, as well as obtain valuable insight into key issues facing the industry. The Ginners’ meeting is held in conjunction with the Midsouth Farm and Gin Show in Memphis, March 3-4.
David Blakemore, National cotton Ginners Association President, Blakemore Cotton & Grain LLC, will kick off the session. A Cotton Specialists panel will address the State of Cotton in the Mid-South: how to maintain the momentum. Panelists include:
Darrin Dodds, Associate Extension/Research Professor, Cotton Agronomics at Mississippi State University
Daniel Fromme, Associate Professor, State Cotton, Corn and Grain Sorghum Specialist, LSU AgCenter, Alexandria, Louisiana
Andrea Jones, Leader of Cotton Research, University of Missouri Fisher Delta Research Center
Tyson Raper, Cotton and Small Grains Specialist for the University of Tennessee
Bill Robertson, Extension Cotton Specialist, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Dr. Gary Adams, President/CEO, National Cotton Council, will address Key Industry Challenges and Opportunities and Kim Kitchings, Cotton Incorporated, will close out the meeting on Recapturing Cotton’s Market Share.
Following the Annual Meeting, SCGA members will attend the annual Honors Banquet. Honorees at the 2016 banquet include: San E. Angel, Epstein Gin Company, Lake Village, Ark., SCGA Ginner of the Year; Peter Hairston, Midnight Gin, Midnight, Miss., SCGA Memorial Scholarship honoree; and Willard Duke Kimbrell, Parkdale Mills, Gastonia, N.C., A.L. Vandergriff Pioneer Award Recipient.
The SCGA Honors Banquet is a ticketed event. For tickets or additional information, contact the SCGA office at 901.947.3104. More information on the annual meeting can be found at the association’s website: www.southerncottonginners.org
