A group of cotton specialists from the Southern, Midwestern, and Western United States have been accepted as eXtension’s newest volunteer Community of Practice (CoP). The Cotton community of practice comes to eXtension with broad support from the cotton industry, a large and diverse group with an interest in the production and manufacturing of raw cotton fiber and its by-products. In 2003, over 170,000 U.S. cotton farms in 17 states produced over 18 million bales of cotton. Nationwide, the economic impact of cotton resulted in over $40 billion in revenue when considering the associated ginning, warehousing, and textile industries.
“We are particularly excited about the formation and acceptance of the Cotton community of practice,” said Dan Cotton, eXtension Director. “This is truly our first volunteer community of practice that has come together with the joint funding of individual institutions versus traditional grant programs or sponsors.”
Sandy Stewart of the Louisiana State University AgCenter will serve as the leader of the community of practice. Will McCarty, Associate Extension Director and State Leader for Agricultural Programs, Mississippi State University, will serve as the administrative advisor for the CoP. Other members of the CoP come from throughout the U.S. and include:
- J.C. Banks, Oklahoma State University;
- Tom Barber, Mississippi State University;
- Randy Boman, Texas A & M University
- Steve Brown, University of Georgia;
- Charles Burmester, Auburn University;
- Stewart Duncan, Kansas State University;
- Keith Edmisten, North Carolina State University;
- Joel Faircloth, Virginia Polytechnic Institute;
- Bob Hutmacher, University of California-Davis,
- Mike Jones, Clemson University;
- Phil Jost, University of Georgia;
- Robert Lemon, Texas A & M University;
- Chris Main, University of Tennessee;
- Denise McWilliams, New Mexico State University;
- Dale Monks, Auburn University;
- Randy Norton, University of Arizona;
- Bill Robertson, University of Arkansas;
- David Wright, University of Florida;
A volunteer Community of Practice is a group that has petitioned eXtension to become a Community of Practice without requesting the funds offered through the traditional Call for Engagement but with full adherence to the eXtension guiding principles, mission, vision, and values.
For more information on this Community of Practice or the volunteer Community of Practice process please contact Carla Craycraft (carla.craycraft@extension.org) or Craig Wood (craig.wood@extension.org).