Americot, Inc., a leading supplier of premium cotton seed, is now offering impressive cash rebates on selected crop protection products when purchased in conjunction with its NexGen®XtendFlex® varieties. Qualifying growers can earn a rebate up to $4.00-per-acre or more, by bundling their seed purchase with essential herbicides, insecticides and Americot’s CottolyST™Enhanced Seed Treatment.
Specifically, the purchase must include at least 40 units of NexGen XtendFlex cotton seed along with at least 60 gallons of Interline®brand glufosinate herbicide or 120 gallons of InterMoc™herbicide (or equivalent combined amounts of the two). Interline and InterMoc glufosinate-based herbicides are the only non-selective alternative to glyphosate in-crop, which is effective in controlling resistant Palmer Amaranth as well as a broad spectrum of weeds and grasses. Additional rebates can be earned on purchases of Moccasin™II Plus (S-Metolachlor), Satellite®(pendimethalin), Argyle™, and Acenthrin™insecticides, as part of this program.
“This program benefits growers in multiple ways,” said Terry Campbell, business development at Americot, “it promotes insect and weed control best management practices across the Cotton Belt and provides a cash incentive to the grower for doing so.”
Americot’s Advanced Protection Program takes effect immediately and will apply to any qualifying purchases made until August 31, 2019. The offer is open to growers in all cotton-producing states in the U.S. where the NexGen brand of cotton seed is sold.
For more details about eligibility requirements and specific product choices, growers should contact their participating NexGen seed dealer or NexGen representative. Additional information may also be found at www.americot.com/programs.
Americot, Inc., headquartered in Lubbock, Texas, provides U.S. cotton growers with quality seed of localized varieties, offering high yield potential and excellent fiber quality, along with the technologies that growers want and need. American-owned and fully independent, Americot is a national leader in cotton seed production and technologies. For more information on Americot and our NexGen brand cotton products, call 888.678.SEED (7333) or visit www.americot.com.
Contact:
Tyrell Currie
Marketing & Communications Manager
806.793.1431, ext 140
tcurrie@americot.com
Mike Tyler of Lamesa, TX, farms in Andrews, Dawson and Gaines Counties. He’s relied on NexGen varieties for several years, especially NG 3406 B2XF – his “go-to variety.” But he has also been impressed with the “4-Series” of NexGen varieties he has recently tried.
“NG 4601 B2XF and NG 4689 B2XF have both done very well on my farms,” said Tyler. “And I really liked the vigor, plant size and drought tolerance of NG 4777 B2XF this year. It’ll be on some of my dryland and irrigated acres next year, because I believe it’s a fit for both.
“I also planted some NG 3780 B2XF on June 22 on some acres where cotton failed early in the season,” he added. “It did well. I really like the look and fit of that variety, too.”
It’s this type of grower satisfaction and response that has helped move Americot and its NexGen brand of varieties into a solid number two position in cottonseed market share. According to the 2018 Cotton Varieties Planted report, Americot’s NexGen varieties were planted on 30.7% of U.S. upland acres this year, including more than 42% of the acres in the Southwestern states.
“To have three of the top five planted varieties and five of the top ten in 2018 is something that has never happened in Americot’s history,” said Brad Littlefield, Americot product manager. “That shows the depth and breadth of our portfolio, and it makes me excited moving forward.”
The workhorse of the NexGen product line is still NG 3406 B2XF, a mid-to-early variety that has shown consistent yield and quality performance across the Cotton Belt, evidenced by its ranking as the top planted variety in the U.S. in 2016 and a solid number two in both 2017 and 2018.
But Littlefield also commented on other proven options in the company’s lineup:
“I think NG 4689 B2XF is going to continue to grow in popularity. We’ve found out that it travels better than we initially thought, and have seen it perform in areas where a medium to medium-early variety doesn’t typically fit. It responds well to PGRs, and growers have figured out how to make it work.”
“NG 3729 B2XF was offered in a limited supply in 2018. Early results are very exciting. It is performing well in the Mid-South and Southeast.”
“The disease package, maturity and performance seen from NG 3780 B2XF, especially in west Texas, leads us to believe this variety is going to be huge. It has good tolerance to both Verticillium wilt and bacterial blight and has done very well in the market area north of I-40.”
“In the Southeast and south Texas, our mid-to-full varieties have been really strong. NG 5007 B2XF took 9% of the market share in the Southeast this year, and NG 5711 B3XF really shined as well. Both have a great fit across the southern part of the Cotton Belt.”
Several of the company’s current varieties came to the market in limited quantities this year. That won’t be the case for 2019, as ramped up production will assure a consistent supply. And any decisions on new varieties for 2019 won’t be made until all field and trial data has been collected and reviewed. Potential candidates under evaluation all contain the B3XF technology.
“In the majority of our plots thus far, our new B3XFs are winning the trials or are at least in the top percentage of the varieties tested,” says Littlefield.
From Cotton Grower Magazine – November 2018
Jim Steadman is Senior Editor for Cotton Grower magazine. He has spent more than 40 years in agricultural writing and marketing.
Chiree Fields remembers vividly the inauspicious launch of Americot. As the longest tenured employee of the company, she has seen it all unfold.
“When I started working for David Hicks (owner of Americot) in 2004, we had three Roundup Ready varieties and three conventional varieties, and we basically sold them here in West Texas,” recalls Fields, who is Americot General Manager. “When we stood Americot up as an independent company in 2006, we had one plant breeder, three sales reps in Texas, plus myself and Terry Campbell. That’s who we were, and we were successful in our own way.”
That timing was not exactly ideal for an upstart regional seed company. With most of the nation’s cotton acres tied to long-standing brands with successful high yielding varieties, solid financial backing and extensive breeding, research and sales structures, the key for a company like Americot was to find the niches where a smaller company could thrive – and to keep an eye open for opportunities to grow.
The first opportunity came quickly.
During a cotton seed industry restructuring in 2007, Americot surprised the industry by acquiring the NexGen brand, germplasm and breeding programs from Monsanto. That was soon followed by access to new weed control technologies.
“The new technology gave Americot a whole new opportunity,” says Fields. “XtendFlex changed our business. We’re thankful to have the opportunity to license these technologies and know that it’s a big part of our success. We had new products that were successful.”
The company certainly caught the industry’s attention when, in 2016, NG 3406 B2XF was noted as the top upland cotton variety planted in the U.S., as determined by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s Cotton Varieties Planted report. The variety commanded nearly 12% of upland acres, with strong showings in the Southwest and Mid-South, and also remained a close second in the 2017 standings.
Growers Were Taking Notice
Roughly 60 miles separate the cotton fields of Duwane Billings in Seagraves, TX and Len Stanley in Levelland, TX. Both are long-time, successful growers who have seen cotton varieties and seed companies come and go over the decades. Both were familiar with NexGen varieties and were willing to take a closer look.
Billings, however, admits to some initial skepticism.
“It took me a long time to get past the fact that they had less expensive seed,” he says. “To me, that meant it likely wouldn’t produce like other seed varieties. I planted some of their NG 1511 B2RF several years ago, and it did well, so we have just steadily progressed with their seed. In our side-by-side trials, NexGen was doing better than or as well as the others. At some point, I have to say that’s money in my pocket.”
In 2017, Billings’ crop was the largest he’s ever grown, with several fields that produced more than four bales of cotton. He’s also now working closely with Americot on a water efficiency study.
“They have put together a heck of a team,” he adds. “If I have a problem, I can get somebody here quickly, and that’s a big deal to me.”
Stanley has also been impressed.
“In 2016, I had a 200-acre block of NG 3406 B2XF that averaged four bales per acre,” he says. “That was the best cotton I’ve ever made on a block that big. It just looked perfect in every way. So why wouldn’t you think that’s your cotton?”
After blight stunted his cotton in 2017, Stanley added NG 4689 B2XF, which has better disease resistance, to his fields this year. So far, he likes what he’s seen.
Positioning for Smart Growth
With a portfolio of successful varieties and expanding demand from growers, Fields says it was time to evaluate the entire company and its long-term goals to help maintain momentum.
“Initially, we were really just looking to next year,” she says. “We reached the point where we really saw a vision for Americot that could carry us years down the road. We needed to educate our sales staff differently. We needed to be more aggressive in breeding and research and make sure we were placing the right products in the right places to help farmers be more successful.”
Much of the heavy lifting in variety development has been done in recent years by Dr. Tom Brooks, who came to Americot around the same time as the NexGen acquisition in 2007. He worked as a part-time breeder with Dr. David Bush until Bush’s retirement in 2013, then served as a one-man breeding program based in Seminole, TX, while also managing regional nursery programs in the Southeast and Mid-South.
The company expanded its breeding program with the addition of industry veteran Dr. Lloyd McCall in June 2017, and recently added Dr. Mike Robinson and Mark Barfield as breeders based in Greenville, MS, and South Georgia, respectively.
“Tom built a great base for the breeding program,” says McCall. “Thanks to him, we have a good start with breeding programs for germplasm and nurseries and trials both in the Mid-South and Southeast. And now that we have Mike and Mark on board, we’re looking for facilities for our breeding programs in both of those regions.”
Brooks notes that, for now, all breeding work originates at the Seminole site, where they can manage nursery rows, variety evaluation, seed increases and small plot yield trials.
“Our breeding program is still relatively lean,” adds Brooks. “But we do have cooperators helping us with research plots across the Cotton Belt.”
To help bridge the gap between breeding and the sales force, Dr. Doug Jost joined Americot in April 2017 to help develop and build a field research program, working to test and evaluate new prospective varieties on a regional basis.
“Our group wants to help answer as many questions as possible about these new experimentals before we put a sellable seed in the ground,” explains Jost. “Our goal is to have a two-year evaluation cycle prior to commercialization. We need to know how these varieties react at a regional level, then put them in the right areas to succeed.”
Jost heads a program that has grown rapidly within the past year. Field researchers have been added in the Texas Coastal Plains, Northern High Plains, Arizona and the Mid-South, with additions also planned for the Carolinas and Georgia.
And, also during the past year, the company expanded its sales force to 68 representatives from the East Coast to West Texas, and upgraded its product management and marketing efforts.
“We’re making a strong commitment to the cotton industry,” points out Fields. “We’re unique in that we just focus on cotton. We’re going to maintain our growth, and I look forward to seeing what we can continue to do in the future.”
From Cotton Grower Magazine – August/September 2018
Jim Steadman is Senior Editor for Cotton Grower magazine. He has spent more than 40 years in agricultural writing and marketing.
Americot, Inc., a leading supplier of premium cotton seed, is pleased to announce the addition of three new sales and marketing team members to the Americot family: Lucy Carmichael, Daniel Nix and Dusty Parker. “Continued growth in West Texas, as well as expansion into new areas necessitates that we add additional resources to support our customers in the region,” said Chiree Fields, Americot General Manager. “I’m pleased that Lucy, Daniel and Dusty have joined the team, further demonstrating our commitment to growers by providing the experienced, knowledgeable and dedicated support they have come to rely upon from Americot.”
Lucy Carmichael earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Advertising, with a minor in Agriculture Communications from Texas Tech University in 2018. Growing up in Haskell, Texas, Lucy comes from an agricultural family, both on the cotton side, as well as cattle ranching. Based in Lubbock, Texas, Lucy joins the Americot team as a marketing coordinator, supporting our sales teams and customer marketing activities throughout the Cotton Belt.
Daniel Nix was raised in Tolar, Texas, growing up on a cattle and peanut farm. He graduated from Tarleton State University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Plant and Soil Science in 1994. Daniel joins Americot from Crop Production Services in Slaton, Texas, where he was in sales. Based out of Gail, Texas, Daniel will be a sales representative working the Lubbock County area as part of our South Plains regional team.
Dusty Parker grew up on a corn and cotton farm in Uvalde, Texas. He’s a graduate of Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University), where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture in 2002. After spending the last 15 years as a sales rep and branch manager for Helena Chemical Company, Dusty joins the Americot family as a sales representative based in Lubbock, Texas, where he will be supporting growers and our customers in the Dawson County area.
Americot, Inc., headquartered in Lubbock, Texas, provides U.S. cotton growers with quality seed of localized varieties, offering high yield potential and excellent fiber quality, along with the technologies that growers want and need. American-owned and fully independent, Americot is a national leader in cotton seed production and technologies. For more information on Americot and our NexGen brand cotton products, call 888.678.SEED (7333) or visit www.americot.com.
Contact:
Tyrell Currie
Marketing & Communications Manager
806.793.1431, ext 140
tcurrie@americot.com
Americot’s expanded Research and Development team have been busy this season working a number of research trials throughout their assigned regions. These trials are designed to gather in-depth data on a number of NexGen varieties, both on current commercial varieties, as well as pre-commercial ones in the final stages of testing prior to commercial launch.
“We’re looking at specific data including water efficiency, seed treatments, PGR management, heat tolerance, seedling vigor and emergence this year, which allow us to really understand how to best manage our products in specific regions,” says Dr. Doug Jost, Director of Research and Cotton Germplasm. “These trials allow us to provide the very best in cottonseed for NexGen growers now, and into the future.”
Americot continues to invest in the cotton industry and is committed to supporting growers throughout the Cotton Belt. All we do is cotton. All the time.
DOUG JOST, PH.D. Director of Research & Cotton Germplasm | South Plains/Rolling Plains, Texas
This year has been challenging season to say the least. Many growers in the region had to opt out of planting cotton due to extremely dry conditions. Those that were able to get a crop in still struggle with receiving ample rainfall. That said, the NexGen varieties planted have performed very well to-date. Many comments have been received from growers regarding outstanding vigor from our commercial varieties. In years like this, vigor has become key in establishing an acceptable stand and our new experimental varieties are really holding up well in this season’s heat. I am very optimistic that our water efficiency trials will provide tremendous information this season, enabling us to place the best varieties in the toughest environmental conditions in West Texas. At this point, we continue to pray for rain and time to finish this year’s crop.
SHANE HALFMANN Central & South Texas
In my trials this season, I’m keeping my eye on NG 3729 B2XF. It looks promising in tough conditions throughout the Blacklands. This variety has produced an impressive plant for the conditions and was able to set fruit early before the extreme drought. It also looks good in areas where moisture was not a big issue. Late-season rains have proven very beneficial for our fuller season varieties in Coastal Texas. NG 5711 B3XF has responded very well to these rains and will finish very strong. Fields at or close to cutout were able to continue growing and add fruiting positions. I’m excited about several of the experimental BG3 varieties we’re testing in my region. We’ll be able to get very good data from all the trials across South and Central Texas. The trials are very representative of the different conditions across the region and we should see some excellent separation between not only NexGen varieties, but the competition as well. Due to the wide range of environmental extremes that my region has experienced this year, varieties that perform in yield and quality will be very important moving forward. We want varieties that can be as versatile as possible.
CODY JONES Kansas/Oklahoma & High Plains/Northern Plains, Texas
Our irrigated crop looks good across my region. Most started blooming mid-July with good to excellent fruit set and retention. There were some fleahopper damage issues, but minimal. The dryland crop is a total mixed bag, depending on rainfall – the dryland acres north and east of Amarillo caught some good rains and fields look pretty good. To the south and west, dryland acres are poor. NG 3780 B2XF is really showing well in plots thus far and I’m thrilled about the earliness it’s showing. NG 4777 B2XF also looks great with really good yield potential. August is a great time to note any disease issues, such as Verticillium wilt or bacterial blight, and will aid in choosing varieties for next year. NexGen has several varieties with excellent disease packages for growers noticing late-season disease pressure and want to pursue more tolerant varieties for next year. Also, keep an eye out on late-season fertility, especially late-season nitrogen, as an excess of N can delay maturity.
CHASE SAMPLES, PH.D Delta Region
Our bloom dates are on schedule (mid-July) except for the bad spots. Overall, fruit retention in the Mid-South has been incredibly high! If we can hold on to what we had in July, Mississippi, Arkansas and West Tennessee will have really, really good crops. NG 3729 B2XF, NG 5007 B2XF, NG 3522 B2XF & NG 3780 B2XF all look great across the region. NG 3699 B2XF looks great further north in the boot-heel of Missouri and Northeast Arkansas. NG 4689 B2XF also looks stellar in the Delta and more southern part of the Mid-South Cotton Belt. Several of the new BG3 experimental varieties are looking very good with great tests across the region, of which we’ll have a ton of data to learn from. In mid-July we were 6-10 NAWF so be sure and stay active with PGR management on later-maturing varieties.
KAREN GELDMACHER Arizona
Yuma NexGen varieties were at cutout and preparing for defoliation in mid-July. Boll load and fruit retention standouts in this region include NG 3406 B2XF and NG 3729 B2XF. Hot temperatures combined with humidity produced Level 1 and Level 2 heat stress in the low desert growing zones, beginning on the 4th of July. NG 4777 B2XF and NG 4792 XF withstood Level 2 stress that can result in pollen sterility and fruit loss in other varieties. Heat stress data collection of the Americot advanced strain entries at the Maricopa Agriculture Center are suggesting tolerance within varieties, creating advantages for Arizona cotton growers.
From Cotton Farming Magazine – August 2018
Americot, Inc., a leading supplier of premium cotton seed, is pleased to announce the addition of two recent Texas Tech graduates to the Americot family: Bradly Duvall and Dylan Hatley. “I’m delighted that Dylan and Bradly have chosen to start their professional ag careers at Americot and look forward to watching them grow as a part of our family in the future,” said Chiree Fields, Americot general manager.
Bradly Duvall earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science in 2018 from Texas Tech University. Growing up in Perryton, Texas, Bradly worked on the family farm, in addition to helping his father with his independent crop consulting business.He also completed an internship with Bayer CropScience in 2017. Based out of Perryton, Texas, Bradly joins the Americot team as a sales representative, supporting growers and our customers in the North Plains Region, covering areas in the panhandle of Texas and Oklahoma.
Dylan Hatley is a native of the Texas Panhandle, where he grew up in Dumas, Texas. After earning an associate degree from Western Texas College, Dylan went on to Texas Tech University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and Applied Economics. He completed internships in 2016 with Wilbur-Ellis in Sunray, Texas, then at Americot in 2017. Dylan now joins us full-time as a sales representative for the North Plains Region, based in Childress, Texas, and covering parts of southwest Oklahoma.
Americot, Inc., headquartered in Lubbock, Texas, provides U.S. cotton growers with quality seed of localized varieties, offering high yield potential and excellent fiber quality, along with the technologies that growers want and need. American-owned and fully independent, Americot is a national leader in cotton seed production and technologies. For more information on Americot and our NexGen brand cotton products, call 888.678.SEED (7333) or visit www.americot.com.
Contact:
Tyrell Currie
Marketing & Communications Manager
806.793.1431, ext 140
tcurrie@americot.com
Americot, Inc., a leading supplier of premium cotton seed, is pleased to announce the addition of cotton industry experts Mark Barfield and Mike Robinson to the company’s expanded cottonseed breeding program. “As we further expand our research and breeding capabilities, I’m thrilled to now call Mark and Mike members of the Americot family,” said Dr. Lloyd McCall, Americot breeding program manager. “We are extremely fortunate to have these additional highly-talented cotton-breeding professionals join our team.”
Mark Barfield holds a M.S. degree in Agronomy from Louisiana State University and has more than 20 years of experience breeding, testing, and selecting cotton varieties for the southeast full-season market while working for Stoneville-Monsanto-Bayer. Mark most recently was an agronomist with Land O’ Lakes-Winfield United where he spent the last three years. Based in Leesburg, Georgia, he joins the Americot breeding team as the southeast cotton breeder, where he will direct specific regional breeding activities, in addition to working jointly with the Texas-based research and breeding teams.
Mike Robinson earned a Ph.D. from Mississippi State University in Agronomy and Crop Science and has more than 21 years of experience breeding, testing, and selecting cotton varieties for the midsouth early-mid season market while working for Stoneville-Monsanto-Bayer. He most recently was a cotton breeder for Bayer CropScience and is also an experienced manager of breeders, with significant involvement in plant genetics and biotechnology. Mike joins the Americot breeding team as the eastern regional breeding manager, based in Greenville, Mississippi, where he will manage specific breeding activities in that region. He will also work together with Americot’s Texas-based research and breeding teams.
Americot, Inc., headquartered in Lubbock, Texas, provides U.S. cotton growers with quality seed of localized varieties, offering high yield potential and excellent fiber quality, along with the technologies that growers want and need. American-owned and fully independent, Americot is a national leader in cotton seed production and technologies. For more information on Americot and our NexGen brand cotton products, call 888.678.SEED (7333) or visit www.americot.com.
Contact:
Tyrell Currie
Marketing & Communications Manager
806.793.1431, ext 140
tcurrie@americot.com
2018 trials underway to assess variety performance, characteristics and traits in specific regions of the Cotton Belt
Over the past year, Americot has expanded its Research and Development team with the addition of four Research and Germplasm Specialists, supporting our plant breeders across the Cotton Belt. These new team members are administering research trials throughout their assigned regions, gathering data on commercial varieties, as well as pre-commercial varieties in the last stage of testing prior to commercial launch.
“Our goal is to provide our sales teams and growers the exact information they need for each product, to maximize the potential of NexGen® varieties on their farms with data that comes from their growing regions. Water efficiency, seed treatments, PGR management, heat tolerance, seedling vigor and emergence are all focus areas included in the trials planted this year, enabling us to understand how to best manage our products in specific regions,” says Dr. Doug Jost, Director of Research and Cotton Germplasm.
Americot continues to invest in the cotton industry, committed to supporting and bringing additional value to growers throughout the Cotton Belt.
SHANE HALFMANN Central & South Texas
This year, I have 24 trial locations from Corpus Christi to Paris, Texas. Additionally, I’m looking at different PGR application rates and timing on commercial varieties. I’ve been really impressed with the emergence of NG 4777 B2XF, NG 3780 B2XF and NG 3729 B2XF. These new products for 2018 are showing really strong emergence during pretty poor planting conditions.
CODY JONES Kansas/Oklahoma & High Plains/Northern Plains, Texas
I’m working 27 locations from just north of Lubbock, Texas, to Altus, Oklahoma, up to Winfield, Kansas. Our soil temperatures were really good during planting, promoting good stands and emergence. We have some good very early-vigor ratings on our varieties, and NG 4777 B2XF has shown excellent vigor across the board. I also have two water efficiency trials in my area that should yield some very valuable data.
DOUG JOST, PH.D South Plains/Rolling Plains, Texas
I’m really excited about this year! I have 25 trials ranging from Salt Flats to Stamford to St. Lawrence to Lubbock, Texas. With the dry spell West Texas has been under, our water efficiency trials will provide a tremendous amount of value to the grower. In addition, we continue to focus on testing of vigorous varieties with the latest B3XF technology that lends to performance in our West Texas environments.
CHASE SAMPLES MidSouth
This year I’m checking 24 trials across the Mid-South (Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama). I’m very excited about the locations that are solely dedicated to the experimental B3XF varieties as candidates for launch in 2019. We also have several early selection sites for the Breeding Team in the Mid-South that we’ll be monitoring, as well.
KAREN GELDMACHER Arizona
I have several trials across Arizona focused on a few key factors: heat tolerance (including pollen sterility and cavitation), nematode seed treatment trials with the University of Arizona and advanced strains tests for the Breeding Team. So far, NG 3729 B2XF is an early season favorite in university trials across the state. I’m also impressed with the early-season vigor of NG 4792 XF in Central Arizona, where we had a cool, wet and windy April planting.
From Cotton Farming Magazine – June 2018