Tift County farmer Ryan Branch receive the Best Cotton Award, highlighting the announcement of the 2024 Quality Cotton Awards during the Georgia Cotton Commission’s Mid-Year Meeting n July 23 in Statesboro.
Branch, who was nominated by Tift County Extension Agents Justin Hand and Regan Veal. Branch’s cotton achieved a loan value of 57.05 cents/lb. and a premium of 5.05 cents/lb. The Best Cotton Award is given to the Georgia cotton producer with highest loan value and premium.
The Georgia Quality Cotton Awards are co-sponsored by the Georgia Cotton Commission and Bayer Crop Science/Deltapine and administered by the University of Georgia (UGA) Cotton Team. Dr. Yangxuan Liu, Extension economist at the University of Georgia, conducted the analysis. Dr. Camp Hand presented the awards at the event in Statesboro on behalf of the UGA Cotton Team.
The purpose of the awards is to recognize producers and ginners of high-quality cotton fiber and to identify their general management practices for the benefit of other growers. The producers and their gins received a plaque, and the winning producers received a $500 cash award. The UGA County Extension Agent for each winner was also recognized as they work closely with the farmers during the growing season.