Cotton's Agenda

Although export of raw cotton has become essential to U.S. cotton producers’ economic well-being, the National Cotton Council continues its longstanding work for our domestic textile industry. How about assistance in the legislative arena? n A major effort is the NCC’s work to maintain the highly successful “Economic Assistance to Users of Upland Cotton” program first introduced in 2008 farm law and reauthorized in the 2014 bill. This program makes a payment of 3 cents per pound to U.S. textile manufacturers for all upland cotton consumed. Payments must be used for specific purposes such as acquisition, construction, installation, modernization, development, conversion, or expansion of land, plant buildings, equipment, facilities or machinery. More recently, the NCC has been working with the Washington D.C.-based National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) and key lawmakers to make sure the Berry Amendment is not weakened in the FY16 National Defense Authorization Act. That Amendment requires the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security to purchase textiles and apparel made with 100 percent U.S. fiber and labor. Likewise, the NCC, NCTO and others have conveyed to lawmakers the critical need for Export-Import Bank Reauthorization. The Ex-Im Bank provides important financing for the U.S. textile industry and its ability to export products.

Cotton Council International (CCI) the National Cotton Council’s (NCC) export promotions arm, is vigorously promoting U.S. cotton worldwide among yarn spinners, fabric/garment manufacturers, brands/retailers and consumers. How is CCI executing its strategy? Working from 20 offices covering more than 50 countries in...

Although export of raw cotton has become essential to U.S. cotton producers’ economic well-being, the National Cotton Council continues its longstanding work for our domestic textile industry. How about assistance in the legislative arena? n A major effort is the NCC’s work to maintain the highly successful “Economic Assistance to Users of Upland Cotton” program first introduced in 2008 farm law and reauthorized in the 2014 bill. This program makes a payment of 3 cents per pound to U.S. textile manufacturers for all upland cotton consumed. Payments must be used for specific purposes such as acquisition, construction, installation, modernization, development, conversion, or expansion of land, plant buildings, equipment, facilities or machinery. More recently, the NCC has been working with the Washington D.C.-based National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) and key lawmakers to make sure the Berry Amendment is not weakened in the FY16 National Defense Authorization Act. That Amendment requires the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security to purchase textiles and apparel made with 100 percent U.S. fiber and labor. Likewise, the NCC, NCTO and others have conveyed to lawmakers the critical need for Export-Import Bank Reauthorization. The Ex-Im Bank provides important financing for the U.S. textile industry and its ability to export products.

The National Cotton Council (NCC) is urging U.S. cotton producers to participate in USDA’s Cotton Ginning Cost-Share program (CGCS), a one-time initiative with a June 20-Aug. 5 sign-up window. What is the CGCS program’s purpose? Using administrative authority it has under the...

The National Cotton Council continues to work with Congress and the Administration to ensure farmers are not further burdened by over-reaching regulations. Any concerns conveyed recently to Congress? Those testifying at a recent House Agri-culture Committee subcommittee hearing agreed there were a number of factors driving up production costs, including increased prices for inputs, machinery and new technologies. The witnesses also agreed that another factor was the dramatic increase in the number of regulations and policies put in place by federal agencies, especially EPA. They explained that crop protection businesses that support American agriculture recently have seen serious deviations from the regular order, transparency and scientific integrity of EPA’s risk assessment-based pesticide review process. The witnesses urged Congress and stakeholders to work with government agencies, including EPA, to ensure that no policies are enacted that would prevent farmers and ranchers from economically producing food and fiber. They also emphasized that due to the rising costs and the recent collapse in net farm income, farmers and ranchers will need every tool available to help minimize their production costs. The witnesses’ testimonies are at https://1.usa.gov/1VBYrH6.

With U.S. cotton facing ever-stronger competition from other countries’ growths and from man-made fibers, the National Cotton Council believes it is imperative that our industry increase efforts to prevent lint contamination. What steps have been initiated? Earlier this year, the NCC re-established its Quality Task Force to monitor ongoing quality issues and stay abreast of lint contamination incident reports. Increased complaints from textile mills are threatening U.S. cotton’s reputation. The NCC took another step when it recently amplified its existing contamination prevention policy — directing the task force to coordinate and oversee the creation and implementation of a comprehensive and effective contamination prevention program for cotton producers and gins. This effort is in collaboration with the NCC’s American Cotton Producers, the National Cotton Ginners Association (NCGA), and other producer and ginner interest organizations. harvest cotton not plasticAre plastics still the major concern? Plastics continue as the major contamination source whether from shopping bags and black plastic mulch to irrigation poly pipe and module wraps. We are urging producers to be diligent in removing from their fields all forms of plastic throughout the season and especially prior to harvest. Producers should try to eliminate other potential contaminants, such as seed coat fragments, excess bark and oil/grease. More and more textile mills are using expensive

The National Cotton Council works to ensure cotton producers can operate in a regulatory environment based on sound science and common sense — and one that includes the availability of safe and effective crop protection products. Are there chemicals facing scrutiny? The NCC recently submitted comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s registration review of specific sulfonylurea chemicals in herbicides important to cotton production. Thifensulfuron-methyl, tribenuron-methyl and rimsulfuron are used in pre-plant burndown herbicides, and trifloxysulfuron-sodium is a post-emergent. The NCC urged EPA to consider in its review these chemicals’ weed resistance management benefits. We emphasized producers’ need for multiple herbicides with different modes of action so they can continue rotating or combining MOAs. Late last year, the NCC and producer interest organizations also provided comments to USDA in support of a deregulation decision regarding Dow AgroSciences’ genetically engineered cotton that is resistant to 2,4-D and glufosinate. There are several organophosphate pesticides under EPA review. NCC-submitted comments urged the agency to recognize the benefits of the insecticides dicrotophos (Bidrin) and dimethoate. These provide producers

The National Cotton Council’s Cotton Economic Outlook sees 2016 as another challenging year for U.S. cotton — with uncertainties regarding global mill cotton use and prices unattractive to producers. What is the export demand situation? Export markets continue as the primary outlet for U.S. raw cotton fiber. China, traditionally U.S. cotton’s largest export market, is importing considerably less in the 2015 marketing year — U.S. sales to China are about 80 percent less than this time last year. Thus, the NCC sees total U.S. exports at 9.5 million bales for the current marketing year, down 15.5 percent from 2014. This estimate may prove to be optimistic as the weekly pace will need to increase throughout the remainder of the 2015 marketing year to reach 9.5 million bales. An even more aggressive approach by China to reduce her cotton stocks would be bearish for world prices. That estimate reflects the situation in China where massive cotton stockpiles and expectations for limited quota mean that raw cotton imports by China are expected to fall further in 2016 to 4.75 million bales, down from 5.5 million in 2015. China’s mill use also is projected to decline in 2016. Even though China’s internal cotton price has declined in the past year, it is still almost twice that of polyester prices...

Farmers now have access to the breakthrough technology of Enlist cotton in 2016. As part of the Enlist weed control system, the Enlist cotton trait represents the most innovative advancements in weed control technology for the cotton industry. Enlist cotton provides exceptional crop tolerance to Enlist Duo herbicide — a combination of glyphosate and new 2,4-D choline — and full tolerance to glufosinate herbicides. “We have a level of glufosinate tolerance now that is comparable to the other products that you see in the marketplace,” says Chris Main, Ph.D., PhytoGen cotton development specialist for the Upper Mid-South. “In 2016, cotton farmers will have the option to apply glufosinate over the top of these varieties with confidence since the glufosinate tolerance has been increased.” Growers such as Virginia-based Mike Griffin participated in the 2015 Enlist cotton grower research plots. He understands the importance of new technology and is ready to use the Enlist system on more acres. “The Enlist system specifically has been brought forward to help control weed species that have been unmanageable,” he says. “We look forward to using this technology to help us with resistant and hard-to-control weeds.” What other efforts are targeting economic improvement? Early in 2015, the NCC sought relief from the onerous payment limit provisions of the 2014 farm law by urging Congress to restore USDA’s authority to allow marketing loan redemptions with commodity certificates. Fortunately, commodity certificates were restored in the omnibus appropriations act approved late in 2015. Redemptions with certificates are applicable to the 2015 crop, and any marketing loan gains under certificate redemptions do not apply...

The National Cotton Council recently seized an opportunity to tell a key Congressional panel about the dire economic and regulatory challenges facing the U.S. cotton industry. What was the venue? The early December hearing was conducted by the House Agriculture Committee’s General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee. Testifying were: NCC Vice Chairman Shane Stephens, a Greenwood, Miss., warehouser; NCC Producer Directors Shawn Holladay, Lubbock, Texas; and Cannon Michael, Los Banos, Calif.; and two other producer leaders: Kent Wannamaker, president, Southern Cotton Growers, Saint Matthews, S.C.; and Nathan Reed, Arkansas state chairman, American Cotton Producers, Marianna. They were joined by Mike Wright, executive vice president, Agricultural Lending for City Bank, Lubbock. Where do the challenges lie? Vice Chairman Stephens detailed the current economic conditions characterized by reduced acreage, struggling cotton demand and the lowest prices since 1989. Providing an agricultural lender perspective, Wright painted a bleak picture for the Subcommittee saying that with margins getting tighter every year due to higher production costs and lower commodity prices – producers need above-average yields just to break even. There is no doubt, he stated, that some cotton farmers will not qualify for financing next year, and the ability to obtain financing will become increasingly more difficult as crop prices remain low. Wright’s testimony was reinforced by Reed who testified that production costs in the Mid-South have risen continually over the past decade and he feared that region is at a tipping point. Reed cautioned that once the infrastructure of gins, warehouses and related businesses are gone, they are not likely to return.

During 2015, the National Cotton Council worked diligently to encourage the implementation of sound farm programs while managing numerous trade and regulatory issues that threaten to undermine industry competitiveness. What about the farm law and trade matters? The NCC helped convince policy makers to implement the 2014 farm law’s insurance provisions beginning with the 2015 crop. We worked closely with USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) to improve the Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX) provisions for the 2016 crop year. Based on those discussions, RMA recently announced several key STAX modifications for 2016, among them: 1) allowing producers to elect a zero percent coverage range by practice; 2) allowing written agreements that affect insurable acreage to apply to STAX; and 3) making STAX coverage available for cottonseed through an optional endorsement. NCC staff and industry officials also coordinated with USDA to ensure the marketing loan program would allow cotton redemption from the loan at the adjusted world price to minimize disruption of flow and forfeitures. Equally important was getting USDA to implement a reporting and tracking system so producers and cooperatives could know their status relative to the unified payment limit. The NCC worked on multiple trade concerns. We helped defeat potentially damaging amendments to the cotton and textile industries during Congressional consideration of Trade Promotion Authority. During the Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations, we insisted that a yarn forward rule of origin be required for products granted preferential access to the U.S. market.

What is the primary concern? The World Trade Organization (WTO) failed to meet the July 31, 2015 deadline to agree on a work program for the WTO Ministerial scheduled for Nairobi, Kenya in December. However, there have been repeated comments from numerous countries and WTO officials for there to be “something more” done on cotton policy at this meeting. Thus, the NCC has engaged with U.S. trade officials at the WTO in Geneva and in Washington, as well as with Congress, to ensure U.S. trade negotiators maintain a firm commitment not to accept any further restrictions on U.S. cotton policy. Did you testify before Congress? Gary Adams testifies NCC President/CEO Gary Adams testified that other countries’ agriculture and trade policies threaten U.S. cotton’s viability. In mid-October, I testified at a House Agriculture Committee hearing on “Foreign Subsidies: Jeopardizing Free Trade and Harming American Farmers.” The Committee wanted to further explore the trade-distorting tools that some countries are using and the detrimental impact on American farmers. I told the Committee that U.S. cotton farmers are indeed competing with international farmers who are benefitting from higher support levels. I cited a recent International Cotton Advisory Committee report that estimated average direct assistance to cotton production across all countries at $0.26 per pound – but only $0.07 per pound average support for U.S. cotton production. The NCC opposes any efforts to further limit U.S. cotton policy in the WTO’s upcoming Ministerial.

The National Cotton Council (NCC) is confident persistence will pay off when industry members pursue a zero tolerance goal regarding contamination of seed cotton and lint. Why is contamination such a threat? The NCC believes contamination prevention is so important that...

Cotton Council International (CCI), the National Cotton Council’s (NCC) export promotions arm, conducts a wide array of activities to help raise U.S. cotton’s global profile with the ultimate goal of enabling the fiber to command a premium in the...

The National Cotton Council (NCC) continues to urge the use of scientific research and local solutions, such as state pollinator plans, as ways to improve pollinator health. Why is this action necessary? As directed by President Obama’s 2014 memo, a Pollinator...