Texas Tech's Fiber & Biopolymer Research Institute, in conjunction with the Lubbock Cotton Exchange, will host the 43rd session of the Texas International Cotton School from Aug. 5-15 in Lubbock. The High Plains program features classes, lectures, tours and hands-on interaction in all phases of cotton production, harvesting, ginning, classing, testing, preparation and processing.
The two-week program is structured to provide an integrated understanding of the Texas cotton industry and how it interacts with the global cotton/textile complex, said Noureddine Abidi, Davis College’s Associate Dean for Research and the Leidigh Professor in Tech's Department of Plant & Soil Science.
The program provides hands-on instruction in cotton breeding, production, harvesting, ginning, classing, testing, processing, transporting, marketing, exporting and logistics. In addition, participants are offered an integrated, vertical understanding of the U.S. cotton industry, with a Texas focus, and its interactions with an ever-changing cotton/textile sector.
The curriculum for this year's session includes:
- Field to Fiber, Fiber to Yarn, Yard to Fabric
- Breeding Strategies, Production Systems, Cottonseed Biotechnology
- International Market Promotion, International Arbitration, Trade Finance, Cotton Insurance
- Fiber Properties & Measurements, Contaminants, Textile Chemical Process, Yarn & Fabric Properties
- Precision Agriculture, Sustainability Issues, Pima Cotton, Cotton Ginning & Classing, Bale Selection
- Marketing Topics: Cotton Economics, Futures & Options, Contracts, Government Programs, Role of the Merchant, Exports, US Certification and Delivery Process through the ICE
Among the scheduled tours are:
- Bayer CropScience-Global Cotton Headquarters
- USDA Classing Office (How cotton is classed via HVI)
- Farmers Compress (2.2 M bale storage capacity)
- Farm Tours featuring various types of cotton farming, including drip irrigation, pivot irrigation and dryland
CONTACT: Noureddine Abidi, Leidigh Professor and Managing Director of the Fiber & Biopolymer Research Institute; Texas Tech University at (806) 834-1221 or noureddine.abidi@ttu.edu
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