Cotton Farming

By Carroll Smith / Contributing Editor Jeff Hux, who was recognized as Cotton Farmer of the Year at the 29th Annual National Cotton & Rice Conference, farms in the unique agricultural area known as the Missouri Bootheel in the northern portion of the Mississippi Delta. When he was in his early 30s, Hux’s father, John Hux Jr., began farming in a partnership arrangement. In the late ’60s, John bought out his partner, and Triangle Farms was born and is based out of New Madrid County.

The Cotton Board 2024 Conference Shelley Heinrich, Cotton Board Southern Plains Regional Communications Manager The Cotton Research & Promotion Program, funded by U.S. cotton growers and importers, continues to invest in research aimed at improving producer profitability. One area receiving increased attention is precision agriculture technology, particularly tools that can help reduce input costs while maintaining effective weed control.

EMILY CABRERA / TIFTON, GEORGIA “That’s the nature of this insect,” said Phillip Roberts, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension entomologist based on the UGA Tifton campus. Within days of detection, Extension specialists were running laboratory bioassays to answer the most urgent question growers ask when a new pest arrives: “How do you kill it?” “That’s always the first question,” Roberts said.

Yangxuan Liu Cotton remains financially strained: High input costs, elevated interest rates, and weak prices have left U.S. cotton producers with ongoing negative profit margins, continuing a long-term trend of economic losses. Global competition and oversupply dampen prices: Rising Brazilian production, China’s diversification away from U.S. cotton, and global stocks exceeding demand have intensified market competition and kept cotton prices suppressed.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark The Arkansas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation (ABWEF) board of directors voted to authorize the distribution of a $1 per acre cash rebate to growers for assessments paid on the 2025 cotton acres verified with the Arkansas Boll Weevil Eradication Program. A total payout of approximately $487,000 will be returned to Arkansas cotton growers with delivery expected by end of April.

Sap, soil and tissue sampling with US cotton farmer Zeb Winslow By Bec Sloane, US Communications Coordinator Fifth-generation cotton producer Zeb Winslow keeps one eye on what is happening above ground, the other on what’s happening below. Based in Scotland Neck, North Carolina, Zeb has worked with the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) over the past decade, forging on with his soil conservation journey.

DENISE ATTAWAY CLEMSON, SOUTH CAROLINA Cotton is an essential crop for the United States economy, but traditional breeding practices have unintentionally left modern cotton varieties vulnerable to climate change. A new study is shedding light on how to make cotton more climate-resilient through improved water use efficiency. Water use efficiency, or WUE, is a critical trait for crop resilience in the face of climate change.

Guy Collins and Keith Edmisten The NCDA & CS Cotton Seed Quality Testing Program continues to serve as a valuable tool for growers. The number of low quality seed lots or stop sales have historically been very low and infrequent, but if planted, they could have impacted several thousand acres; hence the value we have seen from having this program. In some years, seed quality is what it is.

Dr. John Robinson in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University. It is never too early to develop a marketing plan for the upcoming crop. Longer run price outcomes for the 2026 crop depend on expectations of supply and demand. The first supply-related question is how much acreage will be planted. The price of competing crops, relative to cotton prices, is an important consideration to the level of planted acreage.

Specialists Speaking Ken Legé TEXAS While it is typical for the High Plains to have very little to no precipitation during late winter to early spring, the low, stagnant commodity price for cotton accentuates the need to scrutinize every input going into the 2026 season. Among the first of many inputs growers face a decision for is variety (or varieties… if you have more than one field of cotton, you potentially may need more than one variety!).