Browsing by Author "Wilde, Curtis"
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Item Cotton Gin Trash Availability on the Texas High Plains for Bioenergy(2010-05-03T15:55:50Z) Farmer, Michael; Johnson, Jeff; Wilde, CurtisAs the demand for bioenergy increases, agricultural products are being studied to determine their feasibility for use in producing bioenergy. One of the most important factors in the feasibility of the use of any product for bioenergy production is that crop’s availability. Gin trash has been shown to have potential as a boiler or combustion unit fuel, useful in electricity production; additionally, it has also shown to have potential use in ethanol production. Therefore, the objective of this study is to determine the availability of cotton gin trash in 30 counties located on the Texas High Plains (THP). In these 30 counties, 994,736 short tons of cotton gin trash were produced annually. Ten counties were responsible for 55.67% of the cotton gin trash production in this 30 county area.Item Effects of Cotton Variety Selection and Irrigation Level on Economic Returns: Texas Southern High Plains(2010-05-03T15:56:26Z) Johnson, Phillip; Keeling, J.W; Johnson, Jeff; Wilde, CurtisAs technology increases and new varieties are released for cotton production, producers have more options when choosing inputs and input levels. Studies have been conducted at the Agricultural Complex for Advanced Research and Extension Systems (AG-CARES) research facilities at Lamesa, Texas to determine the agronomic impacts of variety selection and applied irrigation level on cotton production. This study analyzes the effects of variety selection and irrigation level and allocation of limited irrigation water for irrigated cotton producers in the Texas Southern High Plains. For this study, the authors considered three varieties with three irrigation levels. The results show that newer indeterminate picker type varieties yielded higher, had greater response to irrigation, and produced larger profit margins than traditional determinate stripper type varieties.Item Optimal economic combination of irrigation technology and cotton varieties on the High Plains of Texas(2008-05) Wilde, Curtis; Johnson, Jeff; Johnson, Phillip N.; Keeling, WayneCotton is the leading agricultural crop in the Texas High Plains. Cotton producers have experienced steady to declining cotton prices coupled with increasing input costs resulting in tightening profit margins. Many new and improved technologies including varieties and irrigations systems are being developed and used in production agriculture. Producers are adopting these new technologies; however, they need information on the proper management of these technologies to help maximize their returns and insure their continued profitability. Therefore, the objectives of this research were to determine the farm-level economic impact of the adoption of subsurface irrigation vs. center pivot irrigation, determine the farm level economic impact of the adoption of new, higher yielding and higher quality varieties, and determine the optimal combinations of applied irrigation water and variety selection for irrigated cotton farms on the Texas High Plains. Cotton yield and quality data collected from irrigation studies under different technologies and variety selection at the AG-CARES research farm at Lamesa, TX and the Helms research farm at Halfway, TX will be evaluated to meet these objectives. Gross margins and net returns above total variable and fixed irrigation costs were estimated for varieties and irrigation systems with different irrigation levels. The results obtained from this analysis showed that producers could increase gross margins by adopting new varieties. In addition, estimations showed that Sub Surface Drip Irrigation can produce higher net returns than Low Energy Precision Application center pivot systems. Estimations from two locations demonstrate the importance of managing production according to environmental factors. Top performing varieties differed between locations along with optimal irrigation levels. This analysis emphasizes the importance for cotton producers to be informed and properly manage their production.