Unless adjustments are made, replacing peanut acres with cotton causes a wreck if the cattleman continues to calve in the fall. Planting small grains behind cotton has been tried with little success. Aerial seeding, no-till seeding and conventional seeding methods have failed in most situations. The primary problem stems from the late cotton harvest relative to optimum seeding dates for small grains. The fall of 1997 was a good example of just how late cotton harvest can be delayed.
Cotton is back in Georgia in a big way and for a long time.
Hopefully, cattle will also be here and on the same farming operations. The fit is different than with peanuts and the cattle producer may have to re-think his calendar to make optimum utilization of his resources. Making cotton fit cattle would be frustrating. However, adjusting the cattle operation to fit cotton production can and does work. The first step is to determine the best calving season.