When cotton hit $1.11 a pound a little over a week ago (it has since dropped down to $1.07), those in the farming community did something that has been fairly rare in recent years— they spoke about the prospects for this year’s crop with a certain amount of optimism.
“There is some exuberance in the projections out there,” said Brice Capps with the Capital Farm Credit office in Spur. “For many not only is it a good crop, but it’s good quality crop, as well, which should yield some good prices.”
Capps said it couldn’t be characterized as a bumper crop, but “it may be the best crop we’ve seen in 10 years.”
Cotton was recently trading for $1.11 per pound—near a 15-year high—thanks in part to increasing demand from China.
According to the cotton trade press, as a part of a current trade embargo with China, U.S. companies are not allowed to import clothing and other products made of cotton from the Xinjiang region, which is where most of that country’s cotton comes from—so U.S. cotton prices have climbed.
Stephen Reynolds with the USDA/FSA offices in Dickens and Kent Counties characterizes this year’s cotton crop as “a mixed bag. The areas that received rain will have very good crops, but others who didn’t get the rain when they needed it, may be below average.”
But as for the price of cotton, Reynolds didn’t mince words.
“The economic impact of what we have in front of us, once the stripping starts, will be huge. People are going to be spending money in stores again,” and he said. “And after the past couple of years, this is going to allow producers to get caught up again.”
According to Capps, stripping has been under way in McAdoo, but harvesting hasn’t begun yet in most of Dickens County.
Bryan Thomas with the Spur Farmers’ Co-op Gin said, “Our biggest challenge is going to be finding people to gin the crop.”
Like many other employers across the region, Thomas had had trouble finding hourly, seasonal workers. But despite those challenges, he expects a good yield this year, “as long as we don’t get an early freeze.”
Many of the cotton plants were still maturing in mid-October, and just a few more days of warm weather could help. Freezing temperatures end the plants’ maturation.
The lowest temperature so far has been 39 degrees on Saturday, Oct. 16.
First bales have been ginned in Crosby and Floyd Counties, but Thomas said he didn’t expect the first bale in Dickens County until the week of Halloween.
"The economic impact of what we have in front of us is huge. . .people are going to start spending money in stores again."
--Stephen Reynolds, FSA, USDA, Dickens and Kent counties
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