The USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) published final 2023 county yields for upland cotton on July 3, 2024. Upland cotton producers who purchased 2023 crop year Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX) policies are now receiving final indemnity payments, thus contributing to current cash flow. Based on RMA’s Summary of Business reporting as of July 15, total STAX indemnities across all states for 2023 will slightly exceed $352.7 million dollars.
STAX is a crop insurance product for upland cotton that provides coverage for a portion of the expected revenue in an area. Most often, the “area” will be a specific county, but may include other counties or production practices as necessary to obtain a credible amount of data to establish an expected yield and premium rate. STAX coverage is available in all counties where crop insurance for upland cotton is currently offered.
According to USDA-RMA data, 4.87 million acres of upland cotton were insured under STAX in 2023 (Figure 1). This was 48 percent of nearly 10.1 million planted acres. In the majority of cotton producing states, STAX participation is much lower than 48 percent. The high concentration of U.S. cotton acreage in Texas inflates the level of total participation in the STAX program. On a regional basis, the Southwest (Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas) accounted for 70 percent of the total acres enrolled in STAX last year. This region also has the largest concentration of upland cotton acreage in the U.S at almost 6.1 million acres. Texas alone planted over one-half or 5.55 million acres of the U.S. upland cotton total in 2023. Furthermore, Texas accounted for 66 percent, or 3.2 million of the 4.87 million total acres insured under STAX. [READ MORE]