More Volatile Cotton Prices

Since mid-May, ICE cotton futures have witnessed an historic short-term collapse (see this article https://southernagtoday.org/2022/07/what-is-behind-the-recent-cotton-futures-market-plunge/ ).  In the two-month period between May 16 and July 14, the December ’22 contract fell over 49 cents.  In the last 40 years, there have only been six December cotton contracts with more than that total level of change, measuring from the contract high to the contract low.  The …

Pakistani Textile Manufacturers visit Georgia

PERRY, GA. – On July 24, Pakistani Textile Manufacturers began making their way around the U.S. Cotton Belt to learn more about the U.S. cotton industry. The event was coordinated by Cotton Council International (CCI) and the National Cotton Council (NCC). The Pakistani textile executives’ first stop was Savannah, Ga. where they toured the Georgia Port of Savannah, followed by …

An Initial Look at Forced Base Update on the South

One of the questions policy economists get the most from farmers is how likely is it that they will get to update their base acres in the hopes of finally converting their non-base acres into base. For example, there is a significant amount of cotton produced in the Texas Panhandle that does not have seed cotton base and therefore is …

Pakistani Textile Manufacturers Learning More About U.S. Cotton Fiber’s Value

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (July 19, 2022) – Textile executives representing 21 companies from Pakistan should gain a deeper understanding of why U.S. cotton is the world’s preferred fiberwhen they travel across the U.S. Cotton Belt on July 23-28. This COTTON USA Special Trade Mission is coordinated by Cotton Council International (CCI), the National Cotton Council’s (NCC) export promotions arm. With total cotton consumption estimated at 11.1 million bales in 2021-22, Pakistan is the third largest cotton consuming country after …

UGA Offering Field Days in 2022

UGA CAES will host row crop field days throughout the state. During the field days, attendees will see firsthand the research that UGA’s world-class group of extension scientists are conducting with producer funds via the Georgia Cotton Commission and Cotton Incorporated. Field days give producers the chance to interact directly with researchers and ask questions about issues on their farm. …

The Trillion Dollar “Farm” Bill

In May 2022, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its latest 10-year budget projections for a number of Federal programs, including farm-related programs and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).  While CBO typically updates its budget projections up to three times per year, the spring update following the release of the President’s budget is most closely watched as it typically is …

UGA COTTON TEAM NEWSLETTER JULY 2022

What is Behind the Recent Cotton Futures Market Plunge? (Yangxuan Liu): The cotton futures market is on the decline, having experienced a dramatic selloff starting June 17, 2022. As shown in Figure 1, December 2022 Cotton Future prices dropped from the May 17, 2022 high of 134 cents per pound to around 120 cents per pound on June 15, 2022, …

Some Quirky Aspects of Cotton Marketing

This article highlights some differences between U.S. cotton and other ag commodity markets. The subject really involves the nexus of politics and economics.  There is a long history of government regulation of commodity markets. A textbook example is the Onion Futures Act of 1958 which banned trading of onion futures (and which was the basis for subsequent studies of efficient markets …

Liu: What Is Behind The Recent Cotton Futures Market Plunge?

Yangxuan Liu, Assistant Professor, Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Georgia The cotton futures market experienced its selloff since June 17, 2022, creating concerns among cotton producers about this year’s profitability. For example, December 2022 Cotton Future prices dropped from around 120 cents per pound to around 96 cents per pound as this article was written on June 28, 2022. …

Roberts: Stink Bug Management

Stink bugs are the most common insect pest requiring insecticide control in Georgia cotton.  Historically, growers average about 2 insecticide applications per year.  It is critically important that all fields are scouted for stink bugs and insecticides are only applied when thresholds are exceeded.  Stink bug insecticides are broad spectrum and will significantly reduce beneficial insects which increases our risk …

While Still Largely Profitable…Crop Producers Putting Historic Amount of Capital at Risk in 2022

This morning I testified before the U.S. House Agriculture Committee Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management at a hearing titled “A 2022 Review of the Farm Bill:  Economic Perspectives in Title I Commodities and Title XI Crop Insurance”. At the Agricultural and Food Policy Center (AFPC) at Texas A&M University, our work with 675 commercial producers located across the …

UGA Cotton Team Newsletter June 2022

 Articles in this month’s issue include:  June Mid-Season Irrigation Update (David Hall, Jason Mallard, Wesley Porter) June 2022 Weather and Climate Outlook (Pam Knox) Sprayer Considerations (Simer Virk, Eric Prostko, Wesley Porter) Crop Monitoring and Management (John Snider, Ved Parkash, Gurpreet Virk, Camp Hand) Agronomic Update (Camp Hand) Tarnished Plant Bug Management (Phillip Roberts) Deceptively Quiet: Between Emergence and First …