If you thought you’d find some gloom and doom at the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show in Memphis, you were probably shocked. Producers, ginners and industry representatives have chosen to take the high road in dealing with low cotton prices. Yes, this Beltwide trend is a major concern – especially in the Mid-South where acreage shifts are more common. And, yes, acres will be reduced in this five-state area to one of the lowest levels we’ve seen in years…1.1 million acres. That’s a 26 percent drop compared to 2014.
What we saw and heard wasn’t a doomsday attitude. Far from it. What we observed were glimmers of hope as prices creeped up into the mid-60 cent range. Industry experts such as Memphis merchant Joe Nicosia hit on some of the familiar themes in his presentation at the Ag Update. He said China controls much of what might happen in the next few years in terms of US cotton exports. But he said producers can deal with this environment if they embrace cotton as an important crop...
MISSISSIPPI
The latest National Cotton Council survey projects Mid-South cotton acres will decrease by nearly 26 percent in 2015 compared to 2014. Mississippi is projected to have the least decline in acreage with an estimated 14 percent reduction. The NCC...
Today’s Texas cotton ginner has a forward-thinking approach to the future and isn’t deterred by low prices or fewer acres. That’s the opinion of Ross Rutherford, product general manager of Lummus Corporation, and a long-time observer of the Texas cotton ginning industry.
In fact, Rutherford says a prime example of this philosophy is the way Texas ginners continue to invest in technology and timely upgrades.
“A lot of this is being driven by consolidation within the ginning industry, but much of it is a reflection of our customers looking to the future,” he says.
Low cotton prices are nothing new for producers and ginners, according to Rutherford. And, since crop options are limited in the country’s largest cotton production state (Texas), gin owners aren’t afraid of making investments in machinery.
Some examples of new ginning equipment will be on display at the Texas Cotton Ginners’ Association Trade Show on April 9-10 at the Lubbock Civic Center.
A conversation with Buzz Cooper and Shawn Holladay
Editors note – Ginner Buzz Cooper and producer Shawn Holladay know the importance of industry organizations working together for the betterment of U.S. cotton. Holladay is president of Plains Cotton Growers, Inc.,...
Being a farmer, especially a cotton farmer, is a challenging yet rewarding occupation that today seems to be very underappreciated by our consuming society as a whole. The profession of an agriculturalist was once viewed as a noble and...
Les Goodson
Goodson Crop Consulting, LLC
Monette, Ark.
In 1998, while I was in high school, Dale Wells hired me to scout cotton. I guess something stuck, because this will be my 18th consecutive season to be scouting crops. After graduating from...
An unusually warm, dry January slowed snowpack accumulation in much of the West, according to data from the second 2015 forecast by the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Water and Climate Center (NWCC). California, Arizona and New Mexico, as well as parts of Colorado, Utah, Oregon and Nevada, remain in prolonged drought.
“January is usually a big month for snowpack accumulation,” NWCC hydrologist Cara McCarthy says. “But most of the West didn’t see significant gains this month. With isolated exceptions, only Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Montana received near average precipitation last month.” “This is as low a snowpack as I’ve seen across the Sierra Nevada and Cascades for many locations at this time of year,” he says. Several Snow Telemetry (SNOTEL) sites in those ranges are snowless, which is very unusual for this time of year. Even the precipitation in the Southwest wasn’t enough to take these regions out of drought conditions.
Sledge Taylor, a Como, Miss., ginner, was elected National Cotton Council chairman for 2015. Named during the NCC’s recent annual meeting in San Antonio, he succeeds Wallace L. Darneille, a Lubbock, Texas, cooperative marketer.
Taylor is president of the Como...
By Bob Stallman, American Farm Bureau
American agriculture exported more than $152 billion in products last year alone, and there’s room for more growth yet. With Trade Promotion Authority expected to take center stage on the legislative agenda this spring,...
When you thumb through this issue of Cotton Farming, you will notice a definite Texas theme in the stories – and there is a reason for that. Our staff is preparing to travel to Lubbock next month for the...
By Christine Souza, California Farm Bureau
In counties throughout California, farmers and ranchers are working to improve the quality of water that leaves irrigated fields by using best management practices to reduce sediment, silt and other materials through regional Irrigated...
As implementation of the 2014 farm law continues, the National Cotton Council (NCC) reminds industry members of the obstacles that were overcome in order to maintain effective risk management tools in that law.
What was the initial obstacle?
Even before the...
Cotton Incorporated and the Cooperative Extension cotton specialists across the Belt have partnered to combine field variety trial data in a single webbased resource called SeedMatrix.
This online program provides access to new variety performance data. It is just one...
As I have mentioned in this space before, the U.S. cotton industry has a rich history that is always on full display at the National Cotton Council Annual Meeting each year. That was the case again at the meeting at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis just a few weeks ago. Call me sentimental or nostalgic, but it’s hard to put into words how special it is to meet cotton friends that I haven’t seen in many years. Maybe it was because of the retirements of long-time staffers John Maguire and Mark Lange, but a large number of cotton industry persons showed up at this meeting.
It was a particular pleasure to spend time with two persons – Mississippi producer Bruce Brumfield and former NCC executive vice president Earl Sears. When I think about people who have always been willing to share their time, these two are at the top of the list.
Brumfield was president of the NCC in 1994, and when I think about how he juggled farm and business responsibilities in Inverness, Miss., it’s hard to believe he could manage his time so well that year.But, like every NCC industry leader...
