Essential workers, no matter what industry, are proving their importance and impact they have on the world during this time of coronavirus. Medical workers and banking professionals are seeing a tick up in action, while the hospitality industry and those in education have seen a tick down or a significant change to their typical style of working. All of these industries have previously been taken for granted and now are thanked profusely during this time. But there is one industry that has held constant throughout the pandemic: agriculture.
Cotton planting is now in full swing this year. With the low, low prices listed for the commodity around the world, many farmers across the nation are turning to other crops to diversify their fields, but cotton is still king when it comes to Texas.
A lot of the season, as many know, will strongly rely on Mother Nature. So far, Texas has been blessed in terms of weather, so the practice of farmers, consultants and everyone else in the ag industry becomes even more crucial in order to fine tune and bring out the best possible results for the cotton.
To accomplish that feat, they will all have to put their heads together to come up with the best course of action for their farms on an individual basis. This course of action – even during this time of coronavirus – still includes finding and appropriately using the right herbicides and insecticides, keeping tabs on when and where they need to be doing what, and making sure equipment is regularly maintained. Because, it is common knowledge that any extra free time should be spent spraying down and updating the technology inside the combine, picker or stripper, right? Regardless, it’s never too early to start planning for harvest.
Texas farmers are continuing their due diligence in starting and finishing the life cycle of this year’s cotton crop. Multi-generational farming families are still using all the manpower they have, consultants are still running back and forth to check each and every one of their farmers’ fields, and those within a farming family know busy season still starts now.
It’s no lie that farming is an essential business. It’s also not hard to explain why that is. People still need food, they still need clothing, and they still need the promise from the agricultural industry that food and clothing will be there for them for centuries to come.
Simply put, COVID-19 has not stopped farmers and those in the ag industry from planting cotton. They got it in the ground, and they’re now seeing the stand come up. In a time when most everyone else is staying in, farmers are getting out to try and produce the same, if not better, results for the nation and world.
They still get up early every morning. They still go to bed worrying about their crops. They still go out and plant after a subpar season. They still keep the faith.
They are still there for us, and they are very much still farming.
Cassidy Nemec is from Waco, TX, and is currently attending Baylor University, majoring in Business Fellows (Business Honors), History, and Journalism. She grew up in the agricultural industry alongside her dad and grandfather, who was an expert in entomology and an agricultural consultant in Texas and Australia. Cassidy's dad is also an Agricultural Consultant in Texas. She has learned a lot about cotton from them and is still learning more everyday. Cassidy plans to attend graduate school at Texas A&M University to concentrate in a more ag-related field and is excited to be writing for such a great industry.
Πηγή: Cotton Grower