Ag News

Cotton growers gain flexibility under EPA herbicide strategy

Since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed its “herbicide strategy” in July 2023, UGA Extension has worked to find ways to help farmers work within it and still protect their crops.

“It would have been ‘game over’ for most of us,” UGA Extension Cotton Specialist Stanley Culpepper said. “There was no way if this strategy had moved forward through the right process that we would've been able to use these tools in practice.”

Culpepper spoke to Georgia cotton growers as part of the program at the 2025 Georgia Cotton Commission (GCC) Annual Meeting on Jan. 29. The event included presentations from representatives of Cotton Inc., the National Cotton Council and Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper.

The herbicide strategy included requirements for spray drift and runoff mitigation measures that would have placed an unworkable compliance standard on growers, effectively eliminating farm use of herbicides to control weeds, Culpepper said.

Since the initial proposed rule, the EPA said it received more than 10,000 public comments, and UGA undertook two strategies of its own. Culpepper arranged for key officials within the EPA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to visit numerous Georgia farms and talk to farmers about how herbicides are used to control weeds that threaten crop yields.

“Every single farmer, no matter who was in the car, they said, ‘Yes, bring them on,’” Culpepper said. 

Meanwhile, UGA Extension Sustainability Specialist Taylor Singleton, then a doctoral candidate working with Culpepper, developed a field-specific mapping technique that offered a more detailed look at habitats for a protected species, the reticulated flatwood salamander. The county-wide approach for defining habitat for the salamander applied to more than 951,000 acres statewide. By using the advanced mapping techniques, the covered areas for the salamander were reduced to 3,526 acres. EPA has modified this technique for other use nationwide.

The finalized herbicide strategy that the EPA published in August 2024, gave farmers more flexibility, but made the guidance labels more complex. Culpepper said efforts are underway to simplify the labels.

NCC: Farm bill may take a back seat to tax, border wall initiatives

National Cotton Council Senior Government Relations Director Jeff Kuckuck gave a political update. He praised farmers for their efforts to contact Congress in December as it considered a continuing resolution to fund the government and an extension of the 2018 farm bill. Kuckuck said that getting a new farm bill is a priority for the NCC, but in Congress it could take a back seat to tax measures and border wall funding espoused by President Trump.

Kimbrell: Making cotton competitive with synthetic fibers

Cotton Incorporated President & CEO William Kimbrell explored the organization's efforts to make cotton competitive with synthetic fibers, including discussions about sustainability and the development of ToughCotton and TransDry Tech cotton fabrics to rival durability and moisture wicking properties associated with synthetic fibers.

Harper: Disaster loans help ease farmers’ losses to Helene

Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tyler Harper gave an update on the Department of Agriculture activities. He thanked retiring Commodities Marketing Director Andy Harrison, and announced his successor, Frank Rayfield. Harper expressed concerns about the state of the ag economy but expressed optimism over the state's push for agriculture education in elementary schools and detailed progress on relief efforts for farmers' losses due to Hurricane Helene. The department began issuing low-interest disaster loans the week prior, and Harper said he's asking the legislature to appropriate more funding for the loan program.

Toews: Extension offers stress services, Tifton Campus develops precision ag demo farm

Dr. Michael Toews, assistant dean in the UGA College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, welcomed GCC members and shared details about the Tifton Campus, noting that the conference center hosted 50,000 conference attendees last year. He said farmers feeling overwhelmed with stress can contact their local county Extension offices to access a variety of services. Toews also said the campus will be developing a precision agriculture demonstration lab, which already has a 100 hp autonomous tractor and research in geofencing for cattle.

Trustees Awards

The Georgia Cotton Commission presented its third annual Trustees Awards to Johnny L. Crawford and Marvin Ruark.

Ruark, from Morgan County carried on his family tradition and bought the Bostwick Cotton Gin in the 1970s. The Ruark family farm produces cotton, turfgrass, broilers and cattle.

Ruark has served as a board member of both Morgan County Farm Bureau and Georgia Farm Bureau, district supervisor for the Piedmont Soil and Water Conservation District, and secretary/treasurer of the Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation. He has also served as a council delegate and board member for the National Cotton Council, Southern Cotton Growers, and the Cotton Board. Ruark was a board member for the Georgia Cotton Commission from 1980 to 2015.

Crawford, a Grady County native, worked as an Extension plant pathologist for cotton and was a charter member of the UGA Extension Cotton Team. He became the Extension Agronomist for Cotton in 1986 and in the early 1990’s became head of the Extension Plant Pathology Department, where he continued to lead the Cotton Team.

Crawford was awarded the National Cotton Council’s Cotton Foundation Fellowship and was appointed as UGA’s D. W. Brooks Distinguished Professor of Agronomy in 1989. Crawford was recognized as the Cotton Specialist of the Year in 1994.

After retirement, Crawford remained active in agriculture as a cotton producer and President and General Manager of South Central Georgia Gin Company. He is a deacon and Bible teacher at Northside Baptist Church of Tifton. He and wife Yvonne live in Chula and have three children and eight grandchildren.

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