October 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Georgia Cotton Commission Welcomes Dicamba Announcement
Taylor R. Sills, Georgia Cotton Commission
On October 27th, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew R. Wheeler met with farmers and industry stakeholders at Cromley Farms, a sixth-generation family farm in Brooklet, to announce new five-year registrations for two dicamba products and an extended registration for an additional dicamba product. The Georgia Cotton Commission (GCC) is pleased with this announcement. The GCC would especially like to thank Administrator Wheeler and the EPA for the timeliness of the announcement, as growers will soon make purchasing decisions for the 2021 growing season.
GCC Chairman Bart Davis, a cotton farmer from Colquitt County, noted, “This announcement is a victory for cotton farmers in Georgia and across the cotton belt. Dicamba is a major tool for farmers to address our most problematic pests. The continued availability of dicamba is also essential in our continued efforts to prove the sustainability of our industry.”
The event was hosted by Cromley Farms, the family farm of brothers Lee, a GCC Director, and Charley Cromley. “We were proud to host Administrator Wheeler and his team here on our farm. This announcement being made in Georgia shows that Georgia’s farmers have been fantastic stewards of this technology,” said Lee Cromley when asked about Administrator Wheeler coming to Bulloch County.
During the event, Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black and EPA Region IV Administrator Mary Walker signed a Memorandum of Understanding that establishes collaborative efforts and foster relationships between the two agencies. Both announcements were applauded by the crowd, which included Georgia Congressmen Austin Scott, Doug Collins, Rick Allen, and Buddy Carter. American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall, a farmer from Greensboro and National Cotton Council of America Chairman Kent Fountain, a cotton ginner and grower from Surrency.
More information about the dicamba announcement can be found at the following link, https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-2020-dicamba-registration-decision.
The Georgia Cotton Commission is a producer-funded organization located in Perry, Georgia. The Commission began 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 this and other topics please call 478-988-4235 or visit us on the web at www.georgiacottoncommission.org.