The Lubbock Cotton Exchange, in conjunction with Texas Tech University's Fiber & Biopolymer Research Institute, is hosting the 37th session of the Texas International Cotton School. Running from Aug. 7-17 the High Plains program is two weeks of classes, lectures, tours and hands-on interaction in all phases of cotton production, harvesting, ginning, classing, testing, preparation and processing.

"The goal is to allow students and professionals to better understand the global cotton industry," said Texas Cotton School Coordinator Christi Chadwell. Since its inception in 1989, more than 580 students from 60 countries and 17 U.S. states have attended the course. Texas, the nation's leading producer of cotton, annually produces approximately 25 percent of the entire United States' cotton crop.

The curriculum's fluffy-fiber focus is U.S. cotton production, processing and marketing systems, along with an examination of the industry's latest machinery and equipment. "This is a hands-on course that covers all phases of production, harvesting, ginning, classing and testing," Chadwell said.

The curriculum for this year's session includes:

• Breeding strategies, production systems, cottonseed biotechnology
• Fiber properties & measurements, contaminants, textile chemical process, yarn/fabric properties
• Field to fiber, fiber to yarn, yarn to fabric
• International market promotion, international arbitration, trade finance, cotton insurance
• Marketing topics - cotton economics, futures and options, contracts, and government programs
• Precision agriculture, sustainability issues, pima cotton, cotton ginning & classing, bale selection

Among the scheduled tours are Bayer CropScience-global cotton headquarters; USDA Classing Office to see how cotton is classed via HVI; farm tours to see various types of cotton farming (drip irrigation, pivot irrigation, and dryland fields); Farmers Compress with its 2.2 million bale storage capacity; and several dinners/social gatherings to meet and network with members of the Lubbock Cotton Exchange.

During the past decade, West Texas cotton has experienced a dramatic transformation through new transgenic cotton varieties and advanced technology. During that time, Texas Tech researchers have worked on a number of projects to enhance fiber quality through genetics and create new value-added cotton products.

The Texas Cotton Association members merchandise the cotton produced by the many thousands of cotton growers in Texas and Oklahoma, while the Lubbock Cotton Exchange was formed in 1947 to maintain cotton exchange with powers to provide and maintain an atmosphere for the conduct of businesses.

Tech's Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute is equipped and staffed to conduct research and development activities ranging from small-scale testing through large-scale manufacturing. A fundamental objective is to foster greater use of the natural fibers and increase textile manufacturing in Texas.

CONTACT: Christi Chadwell, Communication & Recruiting Coordinator with joint appointment with the Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute, Department of Plant and Soil Science, Texas Tech University at (806) 834-8124 or christi.chadwell@ttu.edu

0712NM17 / Editor's Note: For more information on Tech's FBRI, go to here