Better Cotton Initiative Partners With Soil Health Institute And Growers Guide To Advance Data-Driven Soil Conservation In The US
London – March 2026 – The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) has announced a new collaboration with global non-profit the Soil Health Institute (SHI) and national ag-tech provider Growers Guide to support cotton producers across the United States in strengthening their soil conservation practices.
The partnership will fund intensive on-farm data collection to equip producers with actionable, data-driven insights aimed at improving soil health and reducing chemical inputs.
The initiative focuses on field-level research, analysing samples of soil, plant tissue, and plant sap to better understand nutrient uptake in cotton and other crops.
Karen Wynne, US Impact Manager at BCI, underscored the importance of grounding research in real-world conditions. "We want to make sure that growers have the knowledge, capital, and tools to make these practices work successfully. On-farm research allows them to test systems in the same unpredictable and complicated environment that they work in every day."
Justin Taylor, Senior Sales Manager of Growers Guide, highlighted the value of actionable field data. "Being able to learn what's going on in the soil and plant in season – and then tying that to trends in harvest data at the end of the season – really helps to focus in on key trends that show up, and then take those same ideas and learnings to other farms and customers that we work with."
Among the producers benefiting from this initiative is Zeb Winslow, a BCI-certified cotton producer based in Scotland Neck, North Carolina, who has been enrolled in BCI's programme since 2017.
Working alongside agronomic consultants and specialist laboratories, Winslow and the Growers Guide team are evaluating the most efficient methods to enhance soil biology, reduce inputs, and develop a practical roadmap for fellow producers. "BCI has been extremely good to me over the years, and they helped to fund some of the research we've done here on the farm," said Winslow.
This collaboration is part of BCI's broader US programme, which offers producers a range of regenerative farming opportunities, including individualised conservation planning, carbon programme participation, and access to a global knowledge-sharing network through BCI's Large Farm Program.
About the Better Cotton Initiative
BCI exists to make global cotton production better for the people who produce it, better for the environment it grows in, and better for the sector's future.
