Martin Stoerner of Lockney, serves as President of Plains Cotton Growers (Facebook Photo)
LOCKNEY, TX – Little did he know over 20 years ago that one day he would be the President of one of the most influential agricultural organizations in the country, but today Martin Stoerner has enjoyed the ride.
At the turn of the century, D&J Gin asked him to serve as their representative on the Plains Cotton Growers Board of Directors in Lubbock. He was selected to serve as President of PCG and just started the second year of a two-year stint leading the organization.
Stoerner is part of a third-generation family-farming operation in Floyd County that he joined in 1976.
“We’re putting in our 47th crop this year,” he explains while admitting three years have really stood out when thinking about drought.
“In 1980, we were in the period of transition from being fully irrigated across all acres to figuring out we’re not going to be able to water all those acres” as no-till started to appear as an option for a cropping system. Of course, 2011 was a major drought year, and the rainfall of 2012 summed up perfectly. “We got twice as much (in 2012), and that was only about five inches” for a county that averages 22 inches of annual rainfall.
Recently, Stoerner traveled to Washington, DC, to meet with legislators and leaders within USDA to discuss the needs of cotton growers today and in the next farm bill, which Congress will write later this year.
Listen to Martin Stoerner’s interview on the Agribusiness Report.
