July/August-09:Layout 1 - Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation

COMMODITY UPDATE
Clint Tindall
Justin Ferguson
Boll Weevil Eradication: A Success Story
Clint Tindall, MFBF Cotton Advisory Committee Chair
Justin Ferguson, MFBF Commodity Coordinator for Cotton
At that time, major infestation areas mostly included Natchez and
other cotton-growing parts of southwest Mississippi. However, by 1915,
the boll weevil had reached all the way to northeast Mississippi,
essentially covering the entire state in less than seven years.
In the 1980s, the average yield loss caused by the boll weevil reached
7 percent at times. To the individual producer, the intense management
and cost to rid their crop of the boll weevil was a tremendous burden.
Producers in infested areas could potentially make 8 to 12 sprays in an
individual growing season just for boll weevil control. Costs to control
this pest could range anywhere from $20 to $50 an acre, depending on
the infestation and frequency of treatment. By the mid-1990s, it is
estimated that Mississippi producers were spending some $21 million
annually just to control this pest.
Fortunately, in 2009, the boll weevil is much less of a worry for
Mississippi cotton farmers thanks to the work of the Mississippi Boll
Weevil Management Corporation. Through the efforts of many
fore-sighted individuals, a producer-driven eradication program was
started in Mississippi around 1994, following several devastating crop
years caused by the boll weevil and other pests.
In 1997, the program was off to a strong start, and the state was
broken down into five major cotton-growing regions: Regions 1A, 1B,
2, 3, and 4. Eradication efforts took place in Regions 3 and 4 initially. An
intense trapping system was established to monitor the intensity of the
infestation of the pest throughout the state.
Annual fees were assessed per acre and varied by region according to
boll weevil numbers as the program continued through the years. When
eradication efforts first began within a region, farmers were assessed as
much as $24 per acre for program expenses. As a region's boll weevil
numbers decreased, the annual per-acre fee assessment was lowered. In
2008, the highest assessment paid was $6.50 an acre in Region 3.
This year, just twelve years after active eradication efforts began in
COTTON
Around 1907, a small insect called the boll weevil made its way from Mexico into
Mississippi, setting its sights on the state’s dominant cash crop at the time, cotton.
Cotton is also the only host plant in Mississippi where the boll weevil can reproduce.
this state, the board members of the Mississippi Boll Weevil
Management Corporation, having declared the boll weevil eradicated,
expect no weevil infestation, assuming normal weather patterns, and
have announced grower assessments at $3 per acre, the lowest
assessment since the program’s inception and a small price to assure
Mississippi cotton growers remain weevil-free.
From these facts, there are obvious factors that point to the success of
this program. However, the most significant item is the fact that a group
of your peers, Mississippi cotton farmers, manages the overall structure
of this program.
Annually, producers are elected from the regions to sit on the
Mississippi Boll Weevil Management Corporation Board of Directors.
Assuring that growers’ assessments are managed in the most efficient
manner while maintaining an adequate safety net in the event of a boll
weevil re-infestation in the state have been cornerstones of all
management decisions made by this group of cotton farmers who
guide the direction of the program.
Mississippi’s cotton growers have an estimated $194 million invested
in this program. This group of farm leaders, many of whom have been
involved since the program’s inception, assure the program continues to
provide a sustainable means to protect our state’s cotton acres against
the devastating impacts of the boll weevil.
The Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation supports the work of the
Mississippi Boll Weevil Eradication Program and applauds the impact
the program has made on cotton production in this state. And although
the boll weevil is eradicated in Mississippi, states to our west still have
significant boll weevil infestations.
It is for this reason that cotton growers in Mississippi must
acknowledge the success this program has experienced. Additionally, it
is for this same reason and many others that cotton growers must remain
diligent in protecting and supporting this vital program into the future.
6 M I S S I S S I P P I F A R M C O U N T R Y J U L Y / A U G U S T