Latest News From Cotton

While the expectation is for cotton acres to increase in the June acreage report, another key question is if cotton demand can continue to find footing and support higher prices.

Two new studies from Locus Ag and Pivot Bio found the use of biological products consistently increased yields in a variety of crops across a range of growing conditions.

Zalo herbicide is registered for early to mid-post-emergence use to control a broad spectrum of broadleaf and grass weeds.

Forty million dicamba-tolerant soybean and cotton acres would be directly impacted by the ruling the U.S. District Court of Arizona in Tucson made Tuesday. EPA has not said when it will respond to the court's decision.

“These microbes are naturally occurring. They are on every plant that you would ever see, on the salad you eat, on the grass that you grow, on the trees that you look at, and everything in between,” Smith says.

West Texas is the largest cotton production area in the country, but after battling drought and heat, area farmers say the dryland crop is a failure, and the irrigated acres are only yielding half of normal.

After a year of struggles in 2022, this year’s crop reaped weather that was much more favorable for growing cotton. Burlison, Tenn., farmer Brad Williams describes this year’s growing season as almost perfect.

Neil Lee's cotton dealt with cool weather early on, which stunted the crop. It then turned off hot and dry. At harvest, he was thrilled to find "money bolls" at the bottom of the plant. 

After moving the family farm from Canada to Mississippi in the 1970s, change became part of the family culture for the Jack family of Silent Shade Planting Company - winners of the 2023 Top Producer of the Year Award.

East-central Texas farmers battled historic heat, along with no rain during the heart of the growing season. The outlook on the cotton crop was bleak, but one Texas farmer says cotton harvest produced several surprises.

While a few cotton fields flourished with yields to brag about at the gin, the majority of the region’s production suffered, from one weather extreme to another.

USDA's latest insights show the two companies dominated U.S. retail seed sales for the three crops from 2018 through 2020. That is the most recent period for which market estimates are available.

Upon registration, BASF plans to introduce Liberty Ultra for grass and broadleaf weed control in glufosinate-tolerant soybeans, corn, cotton and canola next season.

This was the final step needed to support planting of Axant Flex Cotton in the U.S.

Farmers across the Texas High Plains received a deluge of rainfall right at planting, and while the moisture was needed, the sudden switch prevented some farmers from planting their intended cotton acres this year.

The Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor is a new survey of nearly 50 economists. Most ag economists agree the next 12 months could produce more financial pressure for agriculture, but their views vary depending on commodity.

After consecutive years of drought, some areas of Texas are now breaking records for the wettest May ever. With most of their crop left to plant, it's forcing farmers to make some tough decisions and crop changes.

Farmers in the Southern Plains are finally starting to see much-needed moisture hit their fields. It may be too late for winter wheat, but it’s a hopeful sign for those needing the rain to even plant summer crops.

Drought continues to tighten its grip across the Plains, forcing farmers in West Texas to make some very difficult decisions this growing season. It's also causing concerns about crumbling cotton infrastructure.

Just ahead of USDA's Prospective Plantings report, the largest cotton growing state in the U.S. is seeing another year of drought, and with fields resembling the Dust Bowl, crop prospects are dwindling by the day.

So grateful to all the incredible and dedicated people at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center , Providence Portland Medical Centerand for the donor/family for providing the miraculous gift of life to my oldest friend.

Steve McKaskle’s remarkable farming story hits frontline dicamba wars, commodity busts, organic vs. GMO melees, scientific breakthroughs, value-added victories, and incurable cancer.

The first-of-its-kind biotech trait is commercially available to farmers as Bollgard 3 ThryvOn cotton with XtendFlex Technology – just in time for the 2023 production season. 

Success germinates by prioritizing family and land stewardship for Silent Shade Planting Company, the 2023 Top Producer of the Year.

Rats! Rats! Rats!

Cotton production will hang by the thin threads of demand in 2023 — and prices will likely sway in the 80¢ to 85¢ per pound range, depending on La Niña's trajectory.

Text of the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package was released early Tuesday morning. The Senate will vote first and intends to pass the measure before Thursday, leaving the House no time to demand changes.

As the U.S. faces a declining cotton crop this year due to drought, will the U.S. lose cotton acres in the years to come? John Phipps thinks the answer depends on three factors: competition, climate, and clothing

How low and wide can a farmer go? 30,000 seeds per acre, or a lean 20,000, or even a bare-bones 5,000 on 60” rows, and still maintain profit levels?

Steven Ebeling admits farming in West Texas is never easy, but 2022 has been a brutal blow with the majority of the dryland acres already counted as a total loss, and irrigated acres are now struggling to survive.

Nearly 57% of Texas is in extreme drought, and with the most severe level of it parked over West Texas and the Texas Panhandle, the drought is starting to rob even irrigated fields of a crop.

One small misstep for man...

There were no major surprises in USDA’s latest WASDE report. USDA didn't adjust U.S. corn or soybean yields in the July report, but cotton abandonment shows the brutal reality of this year's drought.

Welcome to a rags to rows farm tale. Cody Parker is insistent: His success is directly linked to the kindness of other farmers.

The class of 2023 is already in cotton fields. The trial runs preface outstanding genetic promise, according to Deltapine’s New Product Evaluator (NPE).

Cotton planting sits at 7% nationwide, on track with the average, and as drought blankets the home of what’s known as the largest cotton patch in the country, dwindling crop outlooks are feeding cotton prices.

USDA released the first crop progress report of the season, and it showed cotton planting is running slightly behind with 4% of the U.S cotton crop currently planted. One meteorologist says drought may be a factor.

The shotgun houses and clapboard shacks are gone, but a child's toy lingers in farmland rows. Time, tillage and rainfall reveal the sharecropper's last testament: clusters of magnificent clay, agate and glass marbles.

Coley Bailey, a third-generation grower, has hitched his 6,000-acre operation behind John Deere’s out-of-the-gate CP770 cotton picker—potentially the most proficient cotton harvesting machine to ever hit U.S. fields.

After the dizzying heights of $1.21 per pound in 2021, the Cotton Belt could see 12 million acres in 2022, and possibly more, contingent on a mercurial La Niña.

After a battle with COVID-19, first generation farmer Chance McMillan didn't just lose his dad, but a life-long coach. That's as the two had plans to finally farm full-time as father and son.

Cotton prices are a bright spot for cotton producers across the U.S. As harvest hits high-gear, yields are coming in strong, while prices remain at a 10-year high.

Cotton conditions look to be improving as the crop draws closer to harvest. According to the latest USDA data, 71% of the U.S. cotton crop is now rated good to excellent. That compares to 46% this time last year.

A tropical storm making its way across portions of the U.S. could dampen outlooks for cotton supplies this year. Parts of the southeast are dealing with heavy rains from the remnants of Fred this week.

Plant half the seed, yet maintain yield? Less is more for Adam Chappell: He’s all in on 76” rows and is “not going back.”

The CP770 Picker and CS770 Stripper are the two most efficient cotton harvesting machines in John Deere history, according to Christopher Murray, Deere product marketing manager.

Could Palmer amaranth, the king of resistant weeds and crippler of herbicides, be dethroned by its own sex drive? A herbicide-free technology is under testing and aims to attack pigweed with its own pollen.

The company says a U.S. judge's rejection of its class-action proposal will have no impact on its commitment to Roundup or Roundup Ready and their availability for farmers and retailers.

If you’re not from one of the 17 cotton-producing states, you might not realize that the United States is the world’s biggest exporter of cotton.

Cotton prices have been on a rollercoaster ride this past year. The start to 2021 showed a story of improved prices, which is a dramatic change from just a year ago, as geopolitical issues also come into play.