The 2023 Georgia Quality Cotton Awards were presented at the 2024 Georgia Cotton Commission Mid-Year Meeting on July 24, 2024. The awards are co-sponsored by the Georgia Cotton Commission and Bayer Crop Science/Deltapine and administered by the University of Georgia (UGA) Cotton Team. Yangxuan Liu from the UGA Cotton Team conducted the analysis and presented the awards at the event in Statesboro.

The purpose of the awards is to recognize producers and ginners of high-quality cotton fiber and to identify their general management practices for the benefit of other growers. The producers and their gins received a plaque, and the winning producers received a $500 cash award. The UGA County Extension Agent for each winner was also recognized as they work closely with the farmers during the growing season.

The awards are given in each of these three cotton acreage categories: 1) less than 500 acres, 2) 500 to 1,000 acres, and 3) greater than 1,000 acres within the four regions of the state. Winners in these categories are determined by the loan value and premiums of their cotton. The winners’ excellent achievements are due largely to their management practices and expertise. The sponsors of this program congratulate the following winners:

Region 1

• Less than 500 acres

• Grower – MGB Farms, Pulaski County

• Ginner – Heart of Georgia Peanut & Gin, Hawkinsville

• Nominated by – Jay Porter

• 500-1000 acres

• Grower – Melissa Cape Farms, Pulaski County

• Ginner – Heart of Georgia Peanut & Gin, Hawkinsville

• Nominated by – Jay Porter

• 1000+ acres

• Grower – WB Cape Farms, Pulaski County

• Ginner – Heart of Georgia Peanut & Gin, Hawkinsville

• Nominated by – Jay Porter

Region 2

• Less than 500 acres

• Grower – Dickens Farms, Inc., Oconee County

• Ginner – Bostwick Gin, Bostwick

• Nominated by – Carsen Dean & Lucy Ray

• 500-1000 acres

• Grower – Bill Godowns, Jefferson County

• Ginner – Farmer’s Gin and Storage, Wadley

• Nominated by – Pamela Sapp

• 1000+ acres

• Grower – Dean Johnson, Burke County

• Ginner – Bryant’s Inc., Bartow

• Nominated by – Cliff Collins & Peyton Sapp

Region 3

• Less than 500 acres

• Grower – Tommy Kenny, TFK In. Farms, Lowndes County

• Ginner – B.C.T. Gin Company, Inc., Quitman

• Nominated by – Joshua Dawson

• 500-1000 acres

• Grower – Lee and Cole Ballard Farms, Brooks County

• Ginner – B.C.T. Gin Company, Inc., Quitman

• Nominated by – Will Brown

• 1000+ acres

• Grower – Johnson Farms, Cook County

• Ginner – B.C.T. Gin Company, Inc., Quitman

• Nominated by – Tucker Price

Region 4

• Less than 500 acres

• Grower – Jonathan Hart, Thomas County

• Ginner – Boston Gin, Boston

• Nominated by – Sydni Ingram & Michasia Dowdy

• 500-1000 acres

• Grower – Patterson Farms, Worth County

• Ginner – Worth Gin & Warehouse, Inc., Sylvester

• Nominated by – Scott Carlson

• 1000+ acres

• Grower – M & G Farms, Worth County

• Ginner – Worth Gin & Warehouse, Inc., Sylvester

• Nominated by – Scott Carlson

The final award given was the overall Best Cotton Award. This was awarded to the Georgia cotton producer with highest loan value and premium. The 2023 Best Cotton Award went to Oconee County’s Dickens Farm, Inc. with a loan value of 57.81 cents/lb and a premium of 5.81 cents/lb.