Plains, Texas cotton producer Ricky Bearden was unanimously voted in as the Cotton Incorporated Chairman for the 2010 through 2012 term. Bearden succeeds California grower Ted Sheely, who held the post for the prior two years. Mr. Bearden brings more than 30 years of practical experience as a cotton producer to the Chairman position. In addition, he has provided his leadership to a range of cotton-related organizations at the local and national levels.

      Cotton Incorporated President and Chief Executive Officer J. Berrye Worsham said this of Bearden's appointment, "The staff and Board of Cotton Incorporated are delighted to have Ricky as our Chairman. His keen understanding of the cotton industry will be an asset to our organization during his term."

      Ricky Bearden is a native of Plains, Texas where he grows cotton, wheat, milo, peanuts and black-eyed peas on his 6,000-acre farm. He has served as a director on the boards of the National Cotton Council, Cotton Incorporated, and the American Cotton Producers and was also president of Plains Cotton Growers, Inc. from 2004 to 2006.

 

 

Friday, Lubbock, Texas                              By Shawn Wade

      The National Agriculture Statistics Service's (NASS) announcement of July 2010 Upland cotton marketing data provides the last piece of the puzzle for projecting the final 2009 Upland Cotton Counter-cyclical Program payment rate.

      The operative word in the previous sentence, though, is "might" since it is far from certain that the final Weighted Average Price Received calculation will match current estimates calculated from previously reported marketing and price data.

      In fact, the pace at which cotton has been sold and shipped over the past 6-8 months would appear to greatly increase the probability that revisions to previously released preliminary marketing and price data will be made.

      USDA NASS revises price and marketing data at the conclusion of the marketing year for a variety of reasons, when prices are low these revisions often have little or no impact on the calculation of the final CC payment rate for Upland cotton.

      When larger volumes of cotton are being traded the chances that data is left out of the monthly USDA Agricultural Prices report increases.

      Such omissions could be due to delayed data transmission from merchants to USDA or to merchants revising previously submitted data after balancing their own books. As with most endeavors that are undertaken 'on the fly,' tracking cotton sales and responding to monthly USDA surveys of those activities is complicated when trading volumes are elevated.

      According to the August NASS Agricultural Prices report a total of 667,000 bales were traded in July, the final month of the 2009 marketing year, at an average price of 67.30 cents per pound. Total marketings for the 2009 crop are now estimated at 9.905 million bales.

      These figures raised the Weighted Average Price Received calculation to 62.45 cents per pound for cotton sold during the 2009 marketing year that ended July 31, 2010.

      The July data resulted in a further drop in the estimated final CC payment rate to 2.13 cents per pound from the previous months estimate of 2.45 cents. Taking off the 1.03 cent advance CC payment paid to growers in February of this year leaves an estimated 1.1 cents per pound to be paid to growers who received the advance payment. Growers who did not request a 2009 advance CC payment will receive final payments based on the full 2009 CC payment rate.

      With the July data in, the process of gathering revisions for 2009-crop marketing data is currently underway. Unfortunately there is no way to know whether or not the revised data will result in a significantly different figure than what is indicated by the preliminary data now in hand.

      NASS plans release the final Weighted Average Price Received by Growers for 2009-crop Upland Cotton, after revisions, on October 8, 2010. FSA will reportedly receive the figures at the same time providing them the last piece of the puzzle for announcing the final 2009-crop CC payment rate.

      Since future revisions could substantially impact the final payment rate calculation the current 1.1 cent difference between the estimated Weighted Average Price
Received and the FSA-paid advance CC payment rate is narrow, it could be erased with the right combination of revised data and unreported marketing and price information.

      Should that circumstance occur producers could be asked to repay all or part of the 1.03-cent advance 2009 CC payment they have already been paid. Hopefully that will not be the case, but it is a possibility that cannot be ruled out at the present time.

     The following table shows the preliminary average price received each month by
farmers and the associated weighted average price based on prices and
cumulative marketings from August 1, 2009 through July 2010 as reported by USDA NASS.

     The 2009 Counter-cyclical payment rate authorized under the 2008 Farm
Bill will be based on the 12-month Weighted Average Price Received by
growers. For cotton the 12-month Weighted Average Price will reflect price
and marketings for the 2009 marketing year. The 2009 cotton marketing year
began August 1, 2009 and ends July 31, 2010.

Average Price Received For 2009-crop Upland Cotton*
(Weighted by Marketings)

Source: National Agricultural Statistics Service; * = preliminary

      The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Soil and Water Conservation Districts invite the public and any agencies with an interest in conservation issues to participate in Local Work Group (LWG) meetings.

      The purpose of the meetings is to receive input from a broad range of local agencies, organizations, local agricultural leaders, businesses, and individuals that have an interest in natural resource concerns and needs to identify resource concerns.

      For more information and for persons with disabilities who require special accommodations and/or alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, Large print, audiotape, etc.) associated with this meeting should contact the local USDA-NRCS office in their local county, listed under USDA in the Yellow Pages, or access the information on the Texas NRCS Web site at http://www.tx.nrcs.usda.gov.

2011 EQIP LWG Meeting
Dates, Times and Locations

updated as of 08/27/10