Georgia was the first colony to produce cotton commercially, first planting it near Savannah in 1734. In 1793 school teacher Eli Whitney invented and patented the cotton gin. The first major textile mill was built in 1811 near Washington, Ga. Cotton was an ingredient in the first light bulb, the telegraph, the Wright brothers' plane, and the first automobile tires.
Georgia ranks third nationally in cotton production and acres planted, and UGA Extension continues to aid in the growth of cotton production. Cotton-related professions provide 53,000 jobs in the state of Georgia, and cotton's overall impact exceeds $3 billion.
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Lab Testing and Analysis Services Testing for soil, plant tissue, water quality, animal waste, feeds and forages, pesticides, and much more!
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On-Site and Telephone Consultation Available in many county offices for ag producers.
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Pesticide Safety Education Program Topics include pest identification, storage and disposal, pesticide drift and runoff prevention, water quality protection, and food safety.
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Production Meetings Updates on local issues for growers and producers.
- Feeding Whole Cottonseed to Dairy Cows and Replacements (SB 59) Whole cottonseed is an excellent feed for dairy cattle due to its high level of fiber, protein and energy (fat) in a compact package. It can be fed just as it comes from the gin without processing or …
- Using Cotton Byproducts in Beef Cattle Diets (B 1311) Cotton byproducts offer a variety of feed ingredients that can lower the cost of beef cattle production. Cottonseed meal and whole cottonseed can be used in rations for any class of cattle. Gin trash …
- Visual Reference Guide to Common Predators and Pests in Georgia Cotton (C 1161) This quick reference guide provides an overview of common pests and predator groups and their sizes, habitat preferences, and timing in cotton fields. This visual guide is intended to help facilitate …
- How to Set Up a Post-Emergence Directed and Shielded Herbicide Sprayer for Cotton (B 1069) Even with today's technology, it is critical that growers use directed herbicides in their cotton crop to improve coverage of weeds hiding under the cotton canopy. Precision applications maximizing sp…
Websites
UGA-affiliated sites
UGA Georgia Cotton News Information about Georgia cotton including newsletters, breaking news, and relevant links.
Sustainable Agriculture at UGA Brings together information on sustainable agriculture including crop rotation, cover crops, and other resources.
Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics IPBGG faculty actively engage in training of graduate students, the development of new crop varieties, and basic research on the genetics and understanding of crop traits important to agriculture and human kind.
UGA Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics Learn more about the agricultural and applied economics department at the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
UGA Department of Crop and Soil Sciences Learn more about the crop and soil sciences department at the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
Commodity Teams at CAES Teams made up of research scientists and extension specialists work together to provide the latest technology and information for efficient, profitable production of some of Georgia's most valuable commodities.
External sites
Georgia Cotton Commission GCC site featuring annual meeting information, guest speaker profiles, state statistics, cotton lint and seed facts, educational resources, and related links.
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Georgia Farmer of the Year
Bart Davis was announced as the 2023 Georgia Farmer of the Year at the Jan. 27 Georgia Ag Forecast event.
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Irrigation Scheduling Technology
In its first official year of data collection, UGA's AgWET program impacted more than 1,450 acres of row crops in Georgia, 300 acres of peanuts and 1,150 acres of cotton, and yielded an estimated water savings of over 100 million gallons of water.
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Irrigation Scheduling
Reductions in irrigation can lead to major cost savings for farmers and benefits to the environment.
| Top Cotton Producers | |
|---|---|
| County Name | Value |
| Dooly | $62,070,150 |
| Colquitt | 46,403,190 |
| Worth | 44,224,362 |
| Mitchell | 39,749,778 |
| Bulloch | 35,737,496 |
| Brooks | 31,867,460 |
| Coffee | 28,404,028 |
| Crisp | 24,460,284 |
| Thomas | 24,155,550 |
| Early | 23,948,055 |
| State Total: | $1,003,028,657 |
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Displaying farm gate values for 2021. Values are tallied in October for the previous year. |
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