Tom Owen, Delta and Pine Land Company regional sales manager for Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and the picker areas of Texas and Oklahoma, will be adding the High Plains to his area. Owen previously worked with growers, dealers and distributors in the High Plains and is glad
to be back in the market.

"With four million acres of cotton planted on the High Plains, the `stripper' market is very important to our business," said Jim Willeke, Delta and Pine Land (D&PL) vice president of sales and marketing. "Tom has a good feel for the region and has good relationships with our customers. He knows where the stripper market has come from and where it's headed with
new, improved varieties."

Owen previously worked with customers on the High Plains in a role with D&PL's Deltapine division. In this new capacity, Owen will represent the company's stripper varieties sold primarily under the Paymaster name, as well as the Deltapine and Sure-Grow product lines.

"I'm excited to be getting back into the stripper market," Owen said. "Our customers on the High Plains have very specific needs in varieties and as a company we are meeting those needs. With our breeding programs in Hale Center and the new one in Haskell, D&PL is poised to offer cotton farmers further improvements with both conventional and transgenic products. We have great sales and technical people in place to work with growers on identifying the best possible products for each field."

Delta and Pine Land Company is a commercial breeder, producer and marketer of cotton planting seed, as well as soybean seed in the Cotton Belt. For more than 80 years, the Mississippi-based company has used its extensive plant breeding programs drawing from a diverse germplasm base to develop superior varieties. Delta and Pine Land has offices in seven states and facilities in several foreign countries.

Company news release
N2696