Dairy Impact July 2023

Aug 02, 2023

By Cassi Worster

Developing and planning a four-part Spanish dairy webinar series for Spanish-speaking dairy managers, herd managers, herds persons, and employees. The goal of this effort is to teach unbiased, university-based research in the areas of reproduction, nutrition, dairy management, and milk quality so they can improve farm viability and food safety, while maintaining animal wellbeing and welfare.
A dairy production and management newsletter for farmers, managers, employees, and agribusiness professionals where they learned about recording drought conditions, taking and managing forage inventory, understanding impact of fatty acids on milk production, and utilizing fecal starch as a tool to determine starch digestibility. The goal is to improve farm business vitality, environmental sustainability, and food safety.

Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.