Research & Promotion

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Cotton Incorporated’s Blue Jeans Go Green denim recycling program, an initiative that diverts denim garments from landfills and upcycles them. Manufacturing partner Bonded Logic Inc. in Chandler, Ariz., turns them into UltraTouch...

After rallying to the upper 70 cents per pound range during the month of July, new crop cotton futures prices appear to be working their way back down. For much of 2016, new crop cotton futures prices seemed to be stuck in an upper 50 cents to low 60 cents per pound trading range. All of the fundamental supply and demand news pointed to larger acreage and larger production in 2016. With no significant signs of improved domestic or export demand, the potential for a large 2016 crop weighed heavily on the market.However, as the summer progressed, the development of hot, dry conditions in Texas and parts of Georgia along with dry conditions in India began to foster concerns of lower cotton supplies. This introduced a considerable amount of risk premium in the markets and helped support prices. Speculative interests took this momentum and continued to push prices higher by going from a net short position (selling more contracts then purchasing) in early 2016 to the highest net long position (purchasing more contracts then selling) in more than two years. However, this has brought prices to levels that are not fully supported by the underlying supply and demand fundamentals.

By Kay Ledbetter Texas A&M University After eight years of research on no-till advantages and disadvantages with cotton crops, Dr. Paul DeLaune is convinced it’s not as much about the tillage as it is about the cover crop and/or rotation. DeLaune,...

Cotton Incorporated has a renewed, refreshed approach to its goal of increasing consumer demand for cotton. Last year, the organization launched “Cotton. It’s Your Favorite for a Reason” television advertising campaign and is now taking it a step further...

Cotton Incorporated is dedicated to providing valuable tools and resources to cotton farmers as part of an overall commitment to improving the profitability of growing cotton. To help achieve the goal, Cotton Incorporated has partnered with the Plant Management...

At the end of the 2010 crop year, China’s ending stocks (cotton still on hand from that and previous crop years) had reached a very low level of only 10.6 million bales — 23 percent or roughly three months...

As consumers continue to incorporate more fitness into their daily routines, they want to be able to wear the same clothing not just during sports but also during everyday activities, such as grocery shopping or to the office. Cotton...

As the Cotton Research and Promotion Program enters its 50th year, The Cotton Board is launching a new campaign directed at producers that will give them the confidence needed to renew their faith in cotton.It is a hard time to be a cotton farmer. Cotton is entering into new territory, a time when prices are low, market share is declining and federal farm policy isn’t what many had hoped it would be. The Cotton Research and Promotion Program (the Program) has a positive story to tell and a legacy to back it up, but it must not get bogged down in the past. So the new campaign is a forward-looking rally cry for the cotton industry, letting the cotton-growing community know that the Program is pressing on and the possibilities are limitless. Fifty years ago, another generation of cotton producers formed a public/private partnership to strengthen research and promotion for cotton. The producers who helped launch the Cotton Research & Promotion Program in 1966 faced similar challenges of declining market share, low prices and energized competition. They came together to ensure the future of cotton in the marketplace and in their communities. There is no single reason why cotton is again facing declining market share and disappointing prices, but there is only one group throughout the world that is actively trying to do something about it – the U.S. cotton industry. Only the U.S. cotton industry invests this amount of effort and level of funding into cotton research and promotion to increase cotton consumption worldwide.

Tennessee cotton acreage is down 38 percent from last year. Producers in Tennessee planted 275,000 acres in 2014, and it is reported that 170,000 acres were planted in 2015. We are hopeful that cotton will rebound in Tennessee and...

The Cotton Research and Promotion Program (the Program) will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2016. The Program is carried out by cotton farmers and cotton importers who work together to increase the demand for and profitability of cotton. Its...

For the 2015 back-to-school season, Cotton Incorporated wanted to learn what parents’ priorities are when making back-to-school purchasing decisions for their children – and to see how cotton fits into the back-to-school picture. Cotton Incorporated used its Lifestyle Monitor...

Even though some cotton varieties have natural drought tolerance built in, weather patterns of erratic rainfall and predictions of increased competition for water resources in the future are of concern to the entire cotton-growing community. Last year, Cotton Incorporated...

United States cotton producers intend to plant 9.549 million acres this year. If realized, this will be 13.5 percent less than 2014 and the lowest acreage since 2009. This decline is not unexpected; cotton prices are low for the...

Mid-April marked the release of Cotton Incorporated’s new advertising campaign with a heartfelt look at why cotton is a consumer favorite and a call to action to check your labels for cotton content. The new campaign focuses on real stories, from real people talking about their favorite cotton items. The “favorite” commercials feature various cotton staples such as denim and shirting but will also include trending favorites such as athletic apparel. Kim Kitchings, vice president of corporate strategy and program metrics for Cotton Incorporated, says that many cotton pieces have a great story to tell.

In recent crop years, Chinese import demand was supported by official cotton policies. The defining element of these policies was a government stockpiling program that enforced price guarantees made to producers by physically taking possession of bales. Guaranteed prices of...