Lubbock, Texas
July 11, 2008
Aug. 31 will mark the end of an
era for an icon in the cotton industry.
 That’s
when Dr. John R. Gannaway will officially retire as professor
and cotton breeder from Texas AgriLife Research in Lubbock.
Gannaway took over the cotton breeding position at the then
Lubbock Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in 1980 and never
left.
"This was a dream come true." Gannaway, said. "The Lubbock
position was my goal, and it has been a rewarding experience to
know that I actually achieved it. This center is in the midst of
the largest contiguous cotton producing region in the world, and
the producers were, and remain, the most progressive and
aggressive anywhere."
Gannaway began working for the state agricultural research
agency now known as AgriLife Research in 1962 as an
undergraduate at Texas A&M
University. A genetics course inspired him to become a
cotton breeder, as did remembrances of his father who often
said: "Without research, this is as good as it's going to get."
Gannaway said he had the privilege while at A&M to be mentored
by two giants in the cotton industry, the late Dr. Tom Richmond,
a U.S. Department of Agriculture cotton scientist and Dr. G. A.
Niles, his major professor through his master's and doctoral
programs.
In 1974, Gannaway took the AgriLife Research cotton breeding
position at El Paso where he found a high-strength cotton fiber
variety that would impact the cotton industry and his career.
The discovery was the first of many.
Since moving to Lubbock, he has released 398 cotton breeding
lines with traits including high fiber strength, cold and
drought tolerance, early maturity, fiber fineness and nematode
resistance.
Gannaway credits the Plains Cotton Improvement Program initiated
by the late Joel Hembree and Rex McKinney for much of his
Lubbock program funding.
"Without their cooperation, their funding and belief in what I
was trying to do, we would not have been as successful as we
have been in raising the standard of High Plains cotton to the
position it enjoys now,” he said. “Dale Swinburn of Tulia now
chairs the program’s oversight committee, and I owe a debt of
gratitude to all those members for their trust and friendship,
as well as the funding."
In 2003, the cotton-breeding program under Gannaway’s leadership
significantly expanded with the addition of 12 state-of-the-art
greenhouses. The complex was funded by the state of Texas
through a research initiative. It is currently used to screen
wild cottons from around the world for traits that could enhance
U.S. cottons.
“I’ll miss the people most when I leave this job: colleagues,
mentors, producers, graduate students, and undergrads, and
support staff,” he said. “But I’ll probably also miss working
with that beautiful little plant that has ruled my life."
Gannaway may not miss it long though. He plans to move back to
Haskell where he has family banking interests and farmland that
typically produces plenty of that "beautiful little plant" that
has defined him for so many years.
Gannaway leaves behind cotton genetic material which he expects
his successor and longtime colleague, Dr. Jane Dever, will work
to release.
“Dr. Dever is no stranger to this area, as she worked with me
while securing her graduate degrees at Texas Tech University,”
he said. “She also has corporate experience, so she knows the
needs of the industry. I know the program will continue to be
highly productive. I’m pleased and satisfied it’s in good
hands.”
Photo: Texas A&M University |
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