County UGA Cooperative Extension Service agents are an important resource for Georgia cotton farmers. Agents are known for delivering timely and accurate information, which is instrumental for the success of Georgia’s farmers. They also perform community specific research, education and outreach programs designed to help farmers maximize yields and efficiency.
The Georgia Cotton Commission sponsored the King Cotton Awards to recognize outstanding contributions of county agents to Georgia cotton producers. The Senior Award honors agents with 10 or more years of experience. The Junior Award, named the Allen B. Fulford Award, honors the accomplishments and memory of Allen B. Fulford, who served as a county Extension agent and state cotton agronomist. This award credits those with less than 10 years of service. The awards were presented at the 2022 Georgia Association of County Agricultural Agents Annual Meeting & Professional Improvement Conference in November. The Georgia Cotton Commission is proud to salute the excellent work that County Extension Agents do for farmers across the state.
The 2022 Senior King Cotton Award recipient is Jennifer Miller of Jeff Davis County, where she serves as the Agriculture & Natural Resources Agent. She began her career with Gold Kist and came to UGA Extension in 2006 as the 4-H Agent in Wheeler County. She later served as the ANR Agent in Montgomery County and covered Treutlen County for part of that time. Miller has participated in the Statewide On-Farm Variety trials for 11 years, a statewide project managed by county agents and Dr. Camp Hand, UGA Cotton Agronomist. Throughout her career, she has conducted trials that have focused on irrigation and late season cotton management and was also awarded the Allen B. Fulford Award in 2017. In 2021, she collected data on fruiting position and value to update the cotton “money tree” graphic. Miller has a bachelor’s in agriculture from UGA, where she majored in Agriscience & Environmental Systems.
The Allen B. Fulford Award winner is Cole Moon, who serves as the County Extension Coordinator and Agriculture & Natural Resources Agent for Bleckley and Twiggs County. He has worked for Extension since 2018. In addition to holding producer education programs regarding agronomics and defoliation, Moon conducts county research on cotton. The priorities for the local research are made in collaboration with local growers. Recent trials have been on topics such as plant population, variety selection, cotton leafroll dwarf virus and foliar potassium applications. Moon graduated from UGA with a bachelor’s in Agribusiness and a master’s in Plant Protection and Pest Management.
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 the Georgia Cotton Commission please call (478) 988-4235 or on the web at www.georgiacottoncommission.org.