Making a Difference: Agricultural Commodities

Making a Difference: Cotton

Faculty Working With Cotton

Field Day Schedule

Cotton production has a long history in North Carolina agriculture, and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and North Carolina Cooperative Extension have played in central role in that history. Cotton was booming in the early 20th century, and in 1927, J.A. “Bud” Shanklin, a crop science specialist, was hired at (then) N.C. State College to help market uniform cotton varieties and fibers. In the 1950s, Shanklin was asked to help create the North Carolina Cotton Promotion Committee, a group that continues today as the N.C. Cotton Producers Association. Today, Dr. Keith Edmisten is the Extension cotton specialist, working with other Extension specialists and agents to help cotton producers become more productive. North Carolina cotton production rose in the past decade, although production dropped in recent years as prices rose for other commodity crops. In 2006, the state harvested 865,000 acres of cotton, valued at more than $281 million. Cooperative Extension specialists and researchers from a variety of disciplines and departments serve the interests of the industry. The links below lead to news and information related to cotton research and extension initiatives in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.