MR. & DR. LEWIS BY: ROB MILLS STAFF WRITER - COTTON FARMING Growing up, I sat next to my dad many, many nights, as he talked about topics and issues, big and small. Occasionally Texas would come up. He’d tell me “Robert,...

By: Stacey Gorman, Senior Director of Communications, The Cotton Board If there’s one thing cotton producers know right now, it’s that these are not easy times on the farm. Prices are low, input costs are high, and competition from synthetics...

  Jacob Johnson, a Clemson University master's student, uses a Leica stereo microscope to study Upland cotton genes. Stereo microscopes allow scientists to view, analyze and document specimens in two and three dimensions. DENISE ATTAWAY CLEMSON, SOUTH CAROLINA Jacob Johnson, a Clemson University...

With the cotton market this challenging, growers need solid, high-performing varieties. That’s what NexGen® delivered in 2025 – and there’s so much more to come! We are proud to share the latest varieties our breeding team has developed and...

ERIC STANN COLUMBIA, MISSOURI For generations, farmers have used natural materials such as lime, gypsum and manure to improve their soil for growing crops. Now, a team of researchers led by the University of Missouri is giving new purpose to an...

Ben McKnight As the 2025 growing season draws to an end in the South, East, and Central regions of Texas, many producers across these areas are pleased with cotton yield and fiber quality. With the price of cotton where it’s...

Brian Pieralisi To say that 2025 has been a challenging year for cotton growers and the cotton industry would be grossly understating it. Going into this year, there were no surprises from high input costs and low market prices. However,...

Tyson Raper The 2025 season has been tough. Generally, Tennessee’s cotton acres were extremely wet through the end of June and extremely dry from July through early October. The weather pattern created a very shallow-rooted crop, which had very little ability...

Shelly Kerns We are nearing the very end of cotton harvest here in Louisiana, with the exception of a some later planted acres. So far, growers have reported picking around 1,200 lbs. to 1,600 lbs., with some reports nearing or...

Randy Norton The 2025 Arizona cotton season has been a year of contrasts marked by encouraging progress and a few lingering challenges. The crop got off to a strong start with solid germination and stand establishment across most regions. Coming off...

Guy Collins This year has certainly been unique and has brought its share of challenges as every year does. Planting season started out well. A noticeable number of acres were planted in mid- to late-April and early May as warm...

Ken Legé Soil moisture and rainfall are at the focus of everything for the cotton crop in the High Plains of West Texas, and 2025 was no different. A dry winter was followed by very timely planting rains that were...

  Josh Lee I think country singer and Alabamian Riley Green sang it best: “I wish the price of gas was low and cotton was high.” This has been the anthem on repeat for cotton prices in the 2025 season. Despite...

Camp Hand It is amazing how much can change in a year. Looking back at what we wrote in May — which was the most recent Specialists Speaking — and comparing where we are now, it feels like 2025 was...

Jenny Dudak The 2025 cotton season started wet for most areas, leaving us with replanted or late-planted cotton across the state. Heat units were also something we were tracking closely all season as we were consistently, on average, 200 heat...