As the farm bill debates heat up, members of Congress and their staff reach out to organizations like the Agriculture and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University for analyses. That can give the center’s economists insight as to what members might be thinking. Texas A&M’s Joe Outlaw says the signs may not be good for the Stacked Income Protection Plan or STAX offered by the National Cotton Council. He spoke at the Beltwide Cotton Conferences in San Antonio....More
A number of media pundits seem to think the House and Senate Agriculture Committee versions of the new farm bill would make cotton farmers “well off.” That’s not the case, according to Texas A&M University’s Joe Outlaw. Outlaw outlined some of the features of the legislation, which some hope will serve as the starting point when the committees attempt to restart the farm bill process later this year....More
Last year, the Chinese government only had a gap of 5 million bales between what the country’s farmers grew and what its textile manufacturing sector was expected to spin. Yet China imported 24.5 million bales of cotton from around the world....More
Most observers expect U.S. cotton producers to reduce acreage in 2013. Bayer CropScience’s Lee Rivenbark says trying to make sure growers have the right variety and the right trait in different parts of the country is challenging....More
The University of Georgia’s Stanley Culpepper says Georgia growers can employ pre-emergence herbicides even if it’s dry. Culpepper also discussed the important role cover crops are beginning to play in battling herbicide resistance as the Beltwide Cotton Conferences got under way in San Antonio....More
For years, cotton entomologists held regular, informal discussions about what was working and what was not when it came to controlling cotton insects. A few years ago, Mississippi State University’s Jeff Gore began conducting an electronic survey of university entomologists from the Carolinas to California....More
Cotton prices seemingly have been stuck in a narrow trading range above 70 cents. But that doesn’t mean they will stay that way given the “very strong” demand for cotton outside of China....More
As the world's largest textile-producing country, China has an extraordinary impact on the world cotton market. Lately, China's reserve program has been having a largely negative effect that backs all the way into the pipeline in the United States....More
It's been hard enough for the U.S. cotton industry to try to make sure Congress fashions a good farm bill for cotton producers. But the National Cotton Council is also having to try to reassure the government of Brazil the U.S. cotton program will be in compliance with the WTO ruling in the Brazil cotton case....More
