In the four seasons I have been in my position, I have enjoyed contributing to the Specialists Speaking section of Cotton Farming magazine, but I always flip to the last page to read the “My Turn” section.
Some of my favorite contributions have come from Dr. Steve Brown, one of the greatest advocates for cotton production in the lower Southeast, in his discussions of the land grant institutions and how important cotton seed is in today’s production environment. Since Dr. Brown has retired from his Extension role, I guess it is “My Turn” to advocate for the Southeast.
In Georgia, cotton is king. We plant more acres of cotton than any other row crop in the state and are second in production only to Texas. But for some reason, it feels like Georgia is an afterthought for much of the industry. Let me explain.
During the planting and growing season, I will have conversations with many growers about what is going on throughout the Cotton Belt. Many will ask, “What’s it looking like in Lubbock?” or “How’s the crop in the Mid-South?”
Because it seems like what happens in those places moves the needle more than what happens in Georgia. A rain during planting in Lubbock can affect the market, and a rain during harvest in the Mid-South can do the same. But why not in Georgia?
What really got my attention was this past season. Hurricane Francine took a ride up the Mississippi River in the early part of September, and the market responded positively. An economist I follow on X (formerly Twitter) stated that this storm will reduce yield and quality of the crop in the Mid-South, thus explaining why the market improved in response to the storm. Makes sense to me.
It was a couple of weeks later that Hurricane Helene devastated East Georgia. Our data from grower fields suggested 32.6% crop loss, which for the United States means a loss of about 5% of total production. That is a SIGNIFICANT loss if those numbers hold true.
So when I was out driving around the Monday following Hurricane Helene assessing crop losses and visiting with growers, and I got my daily texts with cotton prices from Roger at Southeastern Gin in Surrency, Georgia, I noticed the market went down following Hurricane Helene. When I saw this and began looking into it, I was irate. How can a Category 1 storm in the Mid-South move the market positively, but complete devastation in the second-largest cotton-producing state result in a decrease in cotton price?
But while our growers face seemingly insurmountable hurdles, including regular storms that take our crop, higher seed costs than anyone in the Cotton Belt, continuously rising input costs and depressed cotton prices, they have remained resilient.
The industry in Georgia took it upon themselves to demonstrate that high-quality cotton is produced in Georgia. A collaboration among the Georgia Cotton Commission, the State of Georgia and the federal government resulted in one of the most unique facilities in the belt — the UGA MicroGin. We gin plot-sized samples to generate realistic yield and fiber quality data, very close to what is done at a commercial gin.
Insecticide use has been reduced eight times from prior to boll weevil eradication, with the help of transgenic cotton as well. Our growers produce a high-yielding, high-quality crop and do so in extremely challenging circumstances.
So, in Georgia, cotton is king. But when will others begin to recognize that Georgia is a major player in the cotton industry? I hope it happens sooner rather than later.
— Camp Hand
Tifton, Georgia
camphand@uga.edu