Competing Influences and Expectations for World Cotton Demand

The USDA February 2023 Cotton Outlook projects world cotton consumption bottoming at 110.7 million bales for the current 2022/23 marketing year.  They then forecast 2023/24 consumption recovering to 115.5 million bales due to: 1) post-Covid reopening in China with increasing GDP, 2) lower Chinese production and greater need for Chinese imports, and 3) an “unusual inventory dynamic” of pent-up cotton …

UGA Cotton Team Newsletter – April 2023

Articles in this month’s issue include: The Cause of Recent Bank Failures and the Ripple Effect on Cotton Producers (Serrina Liu) Efficient Nutrient Management Strategies for Cotton (Henry Sintim and Glen Harris) Irrigation System Prep and Early Season Water Requirements for Cotton Production (Wes Porter, David Hall, Jason Mallard, and Phillip Edwards) Thrips Management: Use an At-Plant Insecticide (Phillip Roberts) …

Georgia Cotton Commission Approves 2024 Research

Perry, GA – The Georgia Cotton Commission Board of Directors approved $740,609 in research for the 2024 crop year during the March board meeting. The money will fund 19 projects that will be conducted by University of Georgia researchers and extension specialists. Projects range from funding for the UGA cotton team to research on resistant weeds, evaluating the economics of conservation …

Liu: The Cause of Recent Bank Failures and the Ripple Effect on Cotton Producers

Yangxuan Liu, Assistant Professor and Extension Economist, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Georgia Since March 2021, inflation has started to soar in the United States, reaching a 40-year high in June 2022 at 9.1%. History and economic theory show that if the central bank doesn’t get inflation back in place, that could result in a series of …

Culpepper: The Georgia Cotton Farmer, Dicamba, and the Future of Pesticides

Over 90% of Georgia’s cotton farmers value the ability of using dicamba postemergence in their cotton crop with the belief that weed control, primarily for pigweed, is improved. The future of this technology is, of course, unknown as both the courts and our regulatory partners will influence its fate moving forward. In fact, the potential for the courts and those …

Roberts: Thrips Management in Georgia Cotton

Thrips are the most predictable insect pest of Georgia cotton and are the only insect pest of cotton that a preventive or automatic insecticide is recommended for control.  Thrips infest near 100 percent of Georgia cotton each year and a preventive systemic insecticide should be used at planting.  Research at the University of Georgia demonstrates a consistent yield response when …

Cotton Incorporated Board Creates New Position in Anticipation of CEO Succession Plan

(CARY, NC) – Cotton Incorporated announces today the appointment of William Kimbrell as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the company. This new position was created by Cotton Incorporated’s Board of Directors following the current President and Chief Executive Officer, J. Berrye Worsham’s retirement announcement effective December 2024. The position is in alignment with Cotton Incorporated’s Succession Plan …

ARC/PLC Sign-up Deadline Just Weeks Away

Producers have until March 15th to make their sign-up elections (agriculture risk coverage (ARC) or price loss coverage (PLC)) with FSA and enroll for the 2023 crop year. Based on the number of calls we have been receiving, relatively high but volatile commodity prices for many of the covered commodities have at least a few producers confused as to what would …

CBO’s February 2023 Baseline Update

Yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its February 2023 budget projections for a number of Federal programs, including farm-related programs and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).  All eyes are on the farm bill, which expires on September 30, 2023, and this latest update gives us an initial glimpse of the budget baseline that will be available to the farm bill authors …

Possible Extreme Outcomes for 2023 Cotton

U.S. cotton production is typically uncertain in any given year, in part because roughly half the acreage is in Texas.  Still, the 2023 season is starting off with a more than usual degree of uncertainty. First, the early season forecasts of U.S. cotton plantings vary by as much as two million acres, i.e., from 9.5 to 11.5 million acres.  Such …

NCC Survey Suggests U.S. Producers to Plant 11.4 Million Acres of Cotton in 2023

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – U.S. cotton producers intend to plant 11.4 million cotton acres this spring, down 17.0 percent from 2022, according to the National Cotton Council’s 42nd Annual Early Season Planting Intentions Survey. (see table attached) Upland cotton intentions are 11.2 million acres, down 17.3 percent from 2022, while extra-long staple (ELS) intentions of 184,000 acres represent a 0.5 percent increase. …

2023 World Cotton Outlook: Consumption Rebounds but Economic Pressure Remains

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – National Cotton Council economists point to a few key factors that will shape the U.S. cotton industry’s 2023 economic outlook. This past year can be characterized as a year with significant uncertainty and volatility in the global economy and the world cotton market. The U.S. cotton industry continues to navigate an environment characterized by increased production costs, …