Forty Years of Ag. Research Funding At Cotton Incorporated

Cotton Incorporated is the research and promotion arm of the US cotton industry. Although textile research is largely conducted by in-house scientists, the agricultural research component is conducted by public sector scientists in numerous Universities and USDA-ARS labs. Funding for public research is guided by the mission to improve the efficiency and profitability of U.S. cotton production and has contributed to numerous useful tools and technologies that will be briefly highlighted chronologically. With current constraints on public research funding the role of commodity organization funding has been elevated. Cotton Incorporated provides a 40 year example of public sector innovation that has benefited cotton farmers in the U.S. and around the globe.