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DAWSONVILLE, GA – Cotton industry leader Joe Martin of Conway was elected President of Southern Cotton Growers, Inc., (SCG) at the organization’s 2022 annual meeting held January 12-15 in Hilton Head, South Carolina. He will serve a one-year term.

“I am humbled and excited to serve an organization that represents the interests of cotton producers across the southeastern United States,” said Martin, who has been a North Carolina representative on the SCG board for 13 years. “SCG has history of success thanks to the many farmer-leaders before me who volunteered their time away from their farming operations to advance the business of southeastern cotton. I look forward to working with the SCG staff, our executive committee, and board members who help guide this organization.”

SCG and the Southeastern Cotton Ginners Association are collectively known as Southern Southeastern, the umbrella association offering a variety of grower and ginner services while maintaining a link to agribusiness and other regional and national cotton industry organizations.

“My staff and I are eager to support Joe as we continue to address cotton industry initiatives important to all producers across the southeast,” said David Ruppenicker, CEO of SCG. “Joe is a past president of the North Carolina Cotton Producers Association (NCCPA), the state cotton organization instrumental in launching The Cotton Seed Quality Initiative and the crop insurance Quality Adjustment Provision. His experience will be invaluable as SCG works to move forward the interests of all southeast cotton producers.”

Martin has been farming independently since 1994. Sixty-acres of land on his operation have been farmed by his family for over 200 years.

He has been married 25 years to his wife, Susan, a registered nurse working in the Intensive Care Unit at Vidant Roanoke-Chowan Hospital. They have two children, Savannah (18), who attends Pitt Community College where she is working toward an Associates Degree in Radiology, and Hunter (16), a junior at Northeast Academy.