Current Farm Bill Negotiations for the Marketing Assistance Loan Program

The Nonrecourse Marketing Assistance Loan Program (MAL) is a marketing tool available for select commodities.  Authorized through Title I of the farm bill, MALs provide cash to producers at harvest to allow storage and marketing of the crop for a nine-month period following harvest.  Producers repay the MAL (with interest) or forfeit the crop that was pledged as collateral to …

Sidedressing Georgia Cotton with Nitrogen and Potassium in 2024

In all my 30 years working for UGA in Tifton this is the wettest month of May I can remember. It is not uncommon for the low end of my garden at my house to flood in March…but it rarely happens in May. May is supposed to be one of our drier months which usually works out well for getting …

UGA Cotton Team Newsletter – June 2024

Articles in this month’s issue include: 1. Squaring Cotton and Plant Monitoring (Josh Lee, John Snider, Camp Hand) 2. June Cotton Irrigation Update (Phillip Edwards, David Hall, Daniel Lyon, Jason Mallard, Wesley Porter) 3. Opportunity for Early-Season Disease Management (Bob Kemerait) 4. Knowing the Nutritional Status of your Cotton (Henry Sintim and Glen Harris) 5. Using a Rotary Hoe to …

Examining Farm Bill Base Acre Proposals

Written By: Bart L. Fischer, Research Assistant Professor Co-Director Agricultural & Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University Joe Outlaw, Professor and Extension Economist Co-Director Agricultural & Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University   On May 30, 2024, we compared the farm safety net features of the House Ag Committee-passed version of the 2024 Farm Bill (Farm, Food, and National Security …

NCC Applauds House Farm Bill Legislation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 24, 2024 MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Signaling the appreciation of the House Farm Bill legislation, National Cotton Council (NCC) Chairman Joe Nicosia said, “While we are all aware that Committee action is a first step – not a final one – in a longer Farm Bill process, we must begin moving forward now.” Nicosia added that the …

Battlelines Are Being Drawn: Comparing Current Farm Policy Proposals

On May 1, 2024, Rep. G.T. Thompson, Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, released summaries of their respective farm bill proposals (see here and here).   On May 17, 2024, Chairman Thompson released text of his bill.  Very early this morning, the House Committee on Agriculture finished marking up its …

If You are Following the Conversation about Reference Prices… Here are a Few Facts

There was a time when agricultural economists who focus on farm policy didn’t take a position on a farm bill proposal.  At least the authors of this article were taught by our mentors…just describe what’s in a policy proposal and don’t take a position…that’s not your job.  Good and bad was for others to decide…primarily elected officials since it is, in fact, …

2024-2025 Emerging Leaders Program Class Announced

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Twelve U.S. cotton industry members have been chosen to participate in the National Cotton Council’s (NCC) Emerging Leaders Program for 2024-25. Participants include: PRODUCERS – Clint Dunn, Itta Bena, MS; Lambert Marshall, Scott, AR; Greg Riccomini, Bakersfield, CA; Todd Rovey, Buckeye, AZ; Greg Sikes, Brooklet, GA; and Jack Whatley, Odem, TX; GINNERS – Nathan Goldman, Casa Grande, …

NCC Statement on Farm Bill House Legislation

MEMPHIS, Tenn. –  The National Cotton Council applauds House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “G.T.” Thompson for producing a Farm Bill that significantly increases the support levels for cotton producers, who have been weighed down by the recent rise in on-farm production costs.  This legislation also gives growers more affordable options for their risk management strategies, makes important improvements in the …

GCC Seeking Potential Nominees for Cotton Organization Leadership Positions

May 2024 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE In July, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will convene a caucus of certified producer organizations representing cotton producers in Georgia to nominate individuals to serve as members and alternates of the Cotton Board, which administers the Cotton Research & Promotion Program, for three-year terms beginning January 1, 2025, as current board members’ terms …

UGA Cotton Team Newsletter – May 2024

Articles in this month’s issue include: Recordkeeping for the Future (Taylor Singleton) Considering Diseases and Nematodes between Planting and First Bloom (Bob Kemerait) Seedling Vigor (Wade Parker and Camp Hand) Are Seeding Rates the Place to Cut? (Camp Hand) Cotton Development in the Early Season (Josh Lee, John Snider, and Camp Hand) Early Season Irrigation Requirements for Cotton (Wesley Porter, …

Public Information and the Variability of U.S. Cotton Production Forecasts

During April, the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) announced the suspension of selected statistical reports and processes, including the annual objective yield sampling effort for U.S. cotton.  The latter was a process of field sampling of squares and bolls in major cotton producing states, from which an objective estimate of yield was calculated.  This estimate presumably informed the monthly U.S. cotton …