With 2017 barely in the books, cotton folks have sung “Auld Lang Syne” and are donning their Baby New Year top hats to begin preparations for next season. The scent of cautious optimism is on everyone’s breath as they pass along tidbits of good cotton news that come their way. It’s always refreshing to start off the new year by focusing on the positives.
In Cotton’s Agenda, Gary Adams, National Cotton Council president/CEO, talks about the success Cotton Council International’s new global campaign “COTTON USA is the Cotton the World Trusts.” The goal of this effort is to build demand for U.S. cotton worldwide.
“The campaign is letting U.S. cotton’s end users know that intensive research and superior technology have produced a U.S. cotton fiber that’s now whiter, finer, stronger and cleaner. Those are valuable quality attributes that CCI is using to attract more user mills, manufacturers, brands and retailers into the COTTON USA™ Mark licensing program.”
And in the cover story, when we asked several Mid-South ginners to look into their crystal ball, they say the outlook for cotton appears bright for the upcoming year.
Southern Cotton Ginners Association President Randy Ainsworth says one of the positives he sees for cotton is a historic yield increase from all the new seed varieties.
“We also are getting better grades as far as color, strength and longer staple length, which make our product worth more,” he says.
David Cochran, incoming SCGA president, says the biggest positive he anticipates for cotton in 2018 is the possibility it will be included as a covered commodity in upcoming legislation.
“Another encouraging factor is China reducing its cotton stockpiles,” he says. “The Mid-South had an extremely high-quality crop in 2017, which should be attractive to buyers, and the price of cotton has held up.”
My toast to all for 2018 is this: Breathe in the aroma of cautious optimism and carry it with you throughout the year. Stay charged up with energy and vitality.
Cheers!
If you have comments, please send them to: Cotton Farming Magazine, 7201 Eastern Ave., Germantown, TN, 38138. Contact Carroll Smith via email at csmith@onegrower.com.