(GCC/Perry, GA) — The Georgia Cotton Commission (GCC) has announced its research funding for the 2025 crop year.
GCC Executive Director Taylor Sills said the 17 research projects will help growers maintain their sustainability moving into the future.
“(Wednesday) we had our research board meeting and we allocated $675,340 towards research for the 2025 crop year. We’ve got some ways that we can add to that. We have some things that we didn’t fully finalize. These projects are intended to help farmers ensure their long-term sustainability; to find new ways to cut costs in a time we’re in now with high inputs and relatively low markets, improve yields and things that,” Sills said. “All of this research is done to help support them and ensure their viability going forward.”
University of Georgia researchers and Extension specialists will coordinate the projects, focusing on resistant weeds, soil management, economics of conservation production, irrigation management and more. The goals of the producer-funded research is to help cotton producers by conducting research that can either raise yields, promote efficiency or open new markets.
GCC Chairman Bart Davis, a cotton farmer from Colquitt County, said, “I and the other producers on our board understand that due to high inputs and low markets, times are extremely hard on the farm, and we are committed to being good stewards of producers’ money by funding research projects that promote efficiency, increases yield and ensures long-term sustainability for family farms in Georgia.”
All projects are vetted by both the commission’s board of directors and State Support Committee, comprised of Georgia cotton producers, and the commission’s research review committee, which is made up of researchers, crop consultants and local UGA Extension agents.
The Georgia Cotton Commission is a producer-funded organization located in Perry. The commission began its work in 1965. Georgia cotton producers pay an assessment enabling the commission to invest in programs of research, promotion and education on behalf of all cotton producers of Georgia. For more information about the Georgia Cotton Commission, call (478) 988-4235 or go to the www.georgiacottoncommission.org.