The Daily Southerner, Tarboro, NC

Local News

Related Photos

  • T.J. ROYAL

    images_sizedimage_287113329
October 14, 2009

COTTON CROP

Harvest time approaches

T. J. ROYAL

If the rain and cold weather would hold off for a few more weeks, Extension Director Art Bradley and Edgecombe County cotton growers would be happier.

Right now, Benjie Webb said he is finishing spraying his cotton acreage with a chemical that kills the leaves of the plant, so that his pickers can get the bolls out. If the rain will hold off, he said he will have his pickers start gathering up the cotton by Monday.

Webb, 47, has most of his 325 acres of cotton planted around the Pinetops area. Walking near the edge of 10 acres of cotton planted at his Faith Baptist Church Road home, Webb said that a successful cotton harvest this year for him would be to have a 700-800 pounds-per-acre average. "If you can make a good crop, it's fairly good" what a farmer can make off the cotton when prices are up, he said.

But the cold and wet weather the area has experienced within the past week "is just not good at all for cotton" during harvesting time Bradley said. The delay in harvesting it will also affect the poundage of his crop, Webb said: "The sooner you can get to it, the better it weighs."

Even with the recent rains, the farmer added that his cotton received ample rain over the summer to sprout up well. But that hasn't been the case countywide, with Bradley saying that a wide swath extending from Sharpsburg clear to Oak City missed out on a lot of rainfall. The most consistent rainfall has been in the southern end of the county, Bradley added.

If the cold, rainy weather holds off and some sunshine can get on his plants, Webb expects he can have all his cotton harvested over the next three weeks.

Besides keeping the weight up, both men said that rain is detrimental to cotton because it will remove the oils from the bolls, turning their white color into an unattractive gray. "It doesn't make it puffy, and makes it harder to pick" once he has his combines set to pick the cotton plants, Webb added.

But, with a few consecutive days of sunshine on them afterwards, Bradley said the bolls can return to their desire, naturally white color.

Besides the recent rains, Webb added that pigweed has been a big issue for his cotton harvest this year. While Bradley said that countywide, many growers have successfully kept the destructive weed at bay, Webb said "it's getting worse" for him.

"More of it is becoming resistant to the Round-Up" product he has used on his fields in the past, Webb said. Part of his pigweed problem, he added, came from his decision to use a cheaper herbicide this year. "You have to spend more to try to control it," he said.

Aside from the extra cost Edgecombe farmers have incurred protecting their crops against weeds, Bradley said they have also had to spend more on fertilizer this planting season, as well as on their seeds for their cotton crop.

The total acres of cotton planted this year in Edgecombe was 19,000, the lowest total planted in the county since 1990, Bradley said. The Extension director added that last year, 27,000 acres of cotton were planted, with 52,000 acres planted as recently as 2006.

The main reason cotton prices are decreasing, he said, is because prices remain well below $1 per 100 pounds of cotton crop. Around 60 cents per 100 pounds is the financial break-even point for Edgecombe cotton growers, Bradley added: The price is currently at 65 cents per 100 pounds.

But before it can go to market, Webb said it all depends "on how the weather turns out" this week and next, whether he will have a quality cotton crop for 2009.

Text Only
Local News
  • IMG_5889.JPG Pizza Bowl

    The biggest football game of the year brings the largest sale of the year for two area pizza restaurants.
    Tarboro branches of Pizza Inn and Dominos Pizza are gearing up for Super Bowl XLVI Sunday by increasing their regular employee lineup by as many as seven.
    Pizza Inn is running a special that they believe will keep them busy throughout the day. Last year they sold over 200 large pizzas on Super Bowl Sunday compared to 50 on an average Sunday.

    February 3, 2012 1 Photo

  • Edgecombe unemployment up in December

    TARBORO — Unemployment rates increased in 93 of North Carolina’s 100 counties in December. Rates decreased in four counties and remained the same in three.
    Edgecombe, which saw a slight improvement in November, fell back to its October 2011 level (15.7%). Of the 100 counties in North Carolina, Edgecombe and Dare are tied at third highest in unemployment. 

    February 3, 2012

  • Three ECPS campuses ahead of First Lady's nutritional guidelines

    When First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced new guidelines for the nutritional overhaul of school meals last week, they could have chosen three of Edgecombe County's public schools as their models.

    February 2, 2012

  • Lynn_Cale.jpg ECC Executive Named to United Way Board

    J. Lynn Cale, associate vice president of instruction at Edgecombe
    Community College, has been named to the United Way Tar River Region
    Board of Directors.
        The Tar River Region serves Edgecombe and Nash counties. Cale
    will serve a one-year term, from January to December 2012.
        He and other board members oversee 41 local health and human
    service programs funded through United Way as well as 21 Community
    Partners and various community development partnerships.
    RIGHT: J. Lynn Cale

    February 2, 2012 1 Photo

  • Pattillo Alumni Association on the move

    The Board of Directors (BOD) of W.A. Pattillo High School National Alumni
    Association, Inc. held a meeting on Jan. 21, at Pattillo School under the leadership of its President, Dr. Fred S. Wood, Jr.  All of the officers except one were in attendance, accompanied by 9 of 16 Board Members and 9 of 10 Appointed Standing Committee Chairpersons.

    February 2, 2012

  • BandSEDriverHouse.jpg Local students selected for N.C. Eastern All-District Band

    Three Edgecombe County Public Schools students have been chosen to play in the All-District Band. Lillian House, an alto saxophone player and Kaitlin Driver, a French horn player both eighth graders from South Edgecombe Middle School and West Edgecombe Middle School eighth grade flute player, Taylor Joyner earned the honor this year and will grace the stage at East Carolina University’s Wright Auditorium Feb. 3.

    February 1, 2012 2 Photos

  • Robbery prevention

    Community education on robbery prevention shares equal importance with the search of robbery suspects. Robbery prevention may seem unachievable, but we can not continue to ignore the problem of robbery in our community. As local citizens, we should create ways in which everyone can benefit from the knowledge of robbery prevention.

    February 1, 2012

  • GHW 01-28-1221.JPG George Henry White: tribute to a great American

      Why isn’t George Henry White a household name?  If Vincent Spalding has anything to do with it, that will soon change.
         Long ignored in African American history books and recognitions, George Henry White of North Carolina was elected to Congress in 1896, and re-elected in 1898, becoming the last African American elected to Congress after Reconstruction, and the first to serve in the 20th century.

    January 31, 2012 1 Photo

  • Project SKILL Updates

    The National Science Foundation grant proposal for Project SKILL (Supporting Knowledge with Innovative Life-long Learning) is currently in progress.
    This full-scale developing project, if approved, will prepare Edgecombe County's underrepresented students (grade levels 8-12) for college and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) careers. An anticipated approval date is scheduled for August of this year.

    January 31, 2012

  • KevinWilson.jpg Local Demand Drives Weekend Courses in Historic Preservation

    Interested in turning an old tobacco barn into a "man cave"? You can learn how this spring at Edgecombe Community College.
    In response to local demand, the college has developed several new courses in the historic preservation trades program, including "Preservation of Farm Structures" on March 17-18 and March 24-25.

    January 27, 2012 1 Photo