By Clint Thompson
A new streamlined three-year grower enrollment for the 2022-24 cotton crops should allow for an easier and more efficient way for producers to enroll in the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol.
That’s great news for organizations like the Georgia Cotton Commission who continue to encourage farmers to enroll in the program.
Value of Enrolling
Matt Coley, a cotton producer in Vienna, Georgia and member of the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol’s board of directors, discussed the importance of growers enrolling and the value they receive from it.
“I think it’s vital that we continue to have new growers participate in the upcoming years. As a selling point to growers, you just look at the number of brands, retailers and manufacturers that have joined. Some of the largest brands and retailers that utilize cotton … are all members. Aside from that, this program mostly provides growers an opportunity to see how the practices on their farm compare from a sustainability standpoint to other growers in the state and region,” Coley said. “I know one thing I’ve been able to do with each year of our signup, I can see areas of my operation where I may be able to do a couple of different conservation type of practices and significantly increase my water-use efficiency or my land-use efficiency.
“You get great information from this program that will help you continue your sustainability quest and continue to be able to have a profitable and sustainable operation for years to come.”
Under the new enrollment process, growers should be able to complete all requirements in one sitting. The new process will also allow production by participating growers to be more easily identified and uploaded into the Protocol platform, thus paving the way for a potential redistribution of program revenue.
If growers have questions or would like help with enrollment in the future, reach out to the grower help desk at growers@trustuscotton.org.