AP News, May 15th, 2007
Cotton producer Weldon Melton has planted most of his fields, but the seedlings could be in trouble if cooler-than-normal temperatures continue.
Melton, like a lot of farmers in the nation's leading cotton-producing state, has gone from dealing with brutal droughts in recent years to suddenly hoping things will dry out and heat up.
"If we have two or three days with cool temps, it could hurt it," said Melton, who farms near Plainview about 45 miles north of Lubbock. "The cool nights are what will bother us more."
Soil temperatures need to average about 60 degrees for planted cottonseed to germinate and begin to grow. But daytime temperatures in the Lubbock area have been as much as 4 degrees below normal this month and heavy rains _ 2.22 inches above normal for May alone _ have also chilled cotton fields.
"Cool and wet weather means that the seed is setting in chilly ground and that is not conducive to rapid and healthy growth," said Roger Haldenby, spokesman for Plains Cotton Growers, which serves 41 counties that make up the world's largest cotton patch.
If the seedlings don't start growing within about two weeks, producers have to decide whether to replant or go to another crop. Warmer temperatures are in the forecast for this week, but some heavy rain is, too. Farmers need things to warm up as soon as possible for healthy crops by harvest time in late September or early October.
"It's imperative that we get the bulk of our acreage planted in the month of May to ensure the crop matures adequately," Plains Cotton Growers spokesman Shawn Wade said. "It's normal springtime weather, dodging storms and getting into the fields."
Cotton producers also need ample soil moisture before planting and then need a planting rain afterward. But recent heavy rains have prevented many growers from getting into their fields to plant. Those growers who haven't planted are awaiting higher soil temperatures.
The rains are a big shift from last year. In 2006 agriculture in Texas took sizable hit from drought. Losses of $4.1 billion hit the livestock and crop sectors, the worst single-year ever.
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KEENE, Calif. (AP) _ United Farm Workers has endorsed changing the method for establishing unions from confidential ballots to membership card campaigns, saying a one-week waiting period in organizing elections allows companies to intimidate laborers before they vote.
The UFW has backed a bill by state Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, that would give workers the option of signing membership cards instead of casting ballots in union elections. If a majority of workers signs up, the union would be certified in 48 hours.
The membership card organizing method advocated by Migden and the UFW is used in some public sector areas, including teacher and local government worker unions.
Supporters said the change is needed because businesses sometimes intimidate workers before elections by threatening to fire pro-union workers or to shutter company-owned housing, the UFW said. The union also isn't able to get election information to workers easily because labor contractors move them to different locations almost every day, said Richie Ross, a UFW lobbyist.
An organization of San Joaquin Valley farmers opposes the bill, calling it an "undemocratic" measure that would limit a company's chance to counter arguments put out by union organizers.
"It infringes on the very fundamental right of the farmworker to a secret ballot," said Barry Bedwell, president of the Fresno-based California Grape & Tree Fruit League.
