2023 Georgia Quality Cotton Award winners announced
Early reports indicate Georgia cotton farmers lost as much as a third of their crop due to Hurricane Helene.
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STATESBORO — The 2023 Georgia Quality Cotton Awards were presented recently at the 2024 Georgia Cotton Commission Mid-Year Meeting. The awards are co-sponsored by the Georgia Cotton Commission and Bayer Crop Science/Deltapine and administered by the University of Georgia Cotton Team. Yangxuan Liu from the UGA Cotton Team conducted the analysis and presented the awards.
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 also was recognized as they work closely with the farmers during the growing season.
The awards are given in three cotton acreage categories: 1) less than 500 acres, 2) 500 to 1,000 acres, and 3) greater than 1,000 acres, within the four regions of the state. Winners in these categories are determined by the loan value and premiums of their cotton. The winners’ achievements are due largely to their management practices and expertise. The sponsors of the program recognized the following winners:
Region 1
Less than 500 acres
Grower – MGB Farms, Pulaski County
Ginner – Heart of Georgia Peanut & Gin, Hawkinsville
Nominated by – Jay Porter
500-1,000 acres
Grower – Melissa Cape Farms, Pulaski County
Ginner – Heart of Georgia Peanut & Gin, Hawkinsville
Nominated by – Jay Porter
1,000-plus acres
Grower – WB Cape Farms, Pulaski County
Ginner – Heart of Georgia Peanut & Gin, Hawkinsville
Nominated by – Jay Porter
Region 2
Less than 500 acres
Grower – Dickens Farms Inc., Oconee County
Ginner – Bostwick Gin, Bostwick
Nominated by – Carsen Dean & Lucy Ray
500-1,000 acres
Grower – Bill Godowns, Jefferson County
Ginner – Farmer’s Gin and Storage, Wadley
Nominated by – Pamela Sapp
1,000-plus acres
Grower – Dean Johnson, Burke County
Ginner – Bryant’s Inc., Bartow
Nominated by – Cliff Collins & Peyton Sapp
Region 3
Less than 500 acres
Grower – Tommy Kenny, TFK Inc. Farms, Lowndes County
Ginner – B.C.T. Gin Company Inc., Quitman
Nominated by – Joshua Dawson
500-1,000 acres
Grower – Lee and Cole Ballard Farms, Brooks County
Ginner – B.C.T. Gin Company Inc., Quitman
Nominated by – Will Brown
1,000-plus acres
Grower – Johnson Farms, Cook County
Ginner – B.C.T. Gin Company, Inc., Quitman
Nominated by – Tucker Price
Region 4
Less than 500 acres
Grower – Jonathan Hart, Thomas County
Ginner – Boston Gin, Boston
Nominated by – Sydni Ingram & Michasia Dowdy
500-1,000 acres
Grower – Patterson Farms, Worth County
Ginner – Worth Gin & Warehouse Inc., Sylvester
Nominated by – Scott Carlson
1,000-plus acres
Grower – M & G Farms, Worth County
Ginner – Worth Gin & Warehouse Inc., Sylvester
Nominated by – Scott Carlson
The final award given was the overall Best Cotton Award. This was awarded to the Georgia cotton producer with highest loan value and premium. The 2023 Best Cotton Award went to Oconee County’s Dickens Farm Inc. with a loan value of 57.81 cents/pound and a premium of 5.81 cents/pound.
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