Cotton News

Crop Conditions in the PCG Service Area

By Kara Bishop

While the area received some rain in July, the High Plains of Texas is experiencing continuous 100-degree days (cold front of 90s this week) and most of the crop needs another rain now. Some fields already have plants shedding fruit to deal with the heat stress. No fruit equals no bolls to harvest.

“While some cotton could rejuvenate and start setting new fruit if it received a rain in the next couple of days, we’re running out of time on getting plants going again and putting a fruit load on for harvest,” said Burt Heinrich, producer in Lubbock County. “We’ve seen it happen before, but it usually takes a lot of rain.”

Producers are concerned about boll size in this area. The fruit is not growing like it should while the plant deals with extreme heat and little moisture, even in irrigated cotton.

The fruit that is still hanging on is now susceptible to pests like stink bugs.

“Stink bugs love quarter-size bolls,” said Suhas Vayavhare, extension entomologist for Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Lubbock. “They penetrate the boll trying to get to the seed, so there’s extensive damage that can be done. It also allows for pathogens to get inside, which causes the boll rot.”

Vyavhare said one stinkbug per six feet or 20% boll damage is considered the threshold where treatment is needed.

“Protecting from both stinkbugs and boll worms is key right now and we tend to miss the stinkbug activity in August, leading to yield consequences later,” he added.

Based on current conditions, it will likely be a short crop year though better than the last two, according to PCG CEO Kody Bessent.

“I’ve heard when you drive from Midland up to the Northern Panhandle, you will see the southern third of our area’s crop is in poor condition, the central third is hanging on but needs a rain now; and the northern third looks pretty good.”

Regardless of circumstance, the price is not there. The agricultural economy is moving further away from break-even conditions, much less profitability. The health of the ag industry has been on life support the past couple of years, and if Congress doesn’t pass a farmer-friendly Farm Bill along with economic stimulus support this year, then they might as well pull the plug on farm country. The ag economy has direct impact on local, state and national economies and it’s time to get serious about taking care of it. Producers and industry need to call their U.S. Senators and Representatives to let them know the dire situation they are in. Farmers and agriculture need relief now. Call Congress and let them know. It’s time to storm the gates.

Rep. Jodey Arrington: (202) 225-4005

Rep. Ronny Jackson: (202) 225-3706

Rep. August Pfluger:  (202) 225-3605

Sen. John Cornyn: (202) 224-2934

Sen. Ted Cruz: (202) 224-5922

Welcome to the August 2, 2024 issue of Cotton News, a service provided by Plains Cotton Growers Inc. for the cotton industry in the Texas High Plains and beyond.

Everything is A-OK in Mayberry! Right?  Financial Burdens Crushing Producers, Infrastructure

Factsheet on Plant Growth Regulator Now Available

In Case You Missed It

Financial Burdens Crushing Producers, Infrastructure

By Kara Bishop

On February 14, 2024, Secretary Vilsack addressed the House Agriculture Committee. He looked Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA) right in the eyes and said, “The time period of 2021-2023 represents the highest level of farm income in the last 50 years.”

And, while he may be right, I would argue that gross income doesn’t amount to a hill of beans compared to net. Gross farm income can be as high as it wants to, but profit margins just aren’t there. So what good is income if there’s no profit?

It’s time to stop fighting over the Farm Bill and pass this legislation to save farm country.

The reality:  producers are looking at the same commodity price from the 1970s, which is grossly disproportionate to actual production costs.

“In my 29 years in agriculture banking, cotton prices have predominantly stayed in the 65- to 75-cent range,” said Mike Metzig, Market President of Lending for AgTexas Farm Credit Services. “However, the cost of goods, services, labor and equipment has skyrocketed.”

During my interview to become the communications director for Plains Cotton Growers, I asked the officer team to identify the greatest challenge to their livelihoods. They all said input costs — and that was at the end of 2021 (an above-average crop year). Throughout my tenure here, I’ve interviewed farmers of different ages, genders and operations. They all echo the same sentiment. Input costs’ relationship to commodity prices doesn’t pencil.

House Ag Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) agrees, which is why he and the rest of the committee developed a bipartisan Farm Bill addressing the shortcomings of farm income by increasing the safety net and putting more money in the Foreign Market Development Program and Market Access Program.

To determine the validity of arguments made for a bill that increases the farm safety net, the House Ag Committee recently conducted a hearing on the financial conditions of farm country. One of the witnesses at the hearing was American Cotton Producers Chairman David Dunlow, who farms cotton, peanuts, soybeans and wheat in Gaston, North Carolina.

During his testimony Dunlow stated, “I have never known a worse time in my 40 years of farming. The stress alone has led to personal health issues as a I wonder how our operation will survive.”

Dunlow has been forced to refinance all the farmland he personally owns to pay his operating debts. He struggles to find any traditional lending institutions to fund his operation, so he must rely on credit from a private equity-funded institution at a higher-than-market interest rate.

“In 1990, the cost of a new cotton picker was around $40,000 and the price of cotton was 74 cents,” he added. “Today, a new cotton picker is $1.1 million, and cotton on the December 2024 futures market is still trading in the low 70s — nearly 35 years later.”

Production Decline

If you look specifically at the Texas cotton industry, you see two crop years showing devastating production numbers. Punishing drought wiped out the majority of the cotton crop in 2022 — with an abandonment rate of more than 73% according to USDA 578 data. The 2023 crop year was just about the same profit-wise. There was a little more rain, but more money spent on inputs as operations tried to make a crop without subsoil moisture.

Data from the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service

Data from USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service

Producer and industry stress is high given the financial uncertainty everyone is under. “Just like producers, banks have experienced a ‘mixed bag’ of conditions as well,” Metzig said. “We had some producers that were short on equipment or land notes, but not so many that it exceeded our expectations. Most everyone was able to pay their operating note.”

However, during Dunlow’s exchange with Scott at the House Ag Committee hearing, an anecdote was shared involving a producer and banker. The producer asked, “If farmers have average yields, what percentage of farmers will you be able to finance next year?” The banker responded, “Maybe 80%.”

This leaves 20% of farmers out of business. Scott pointed out that in times past, a farmer would buy or take over the lease of farmland and expand their operation if someone went out of business. “However, in today’s ag economy, you can’t expand if you’re not cash flow positive,” Scott added.

While it may not be as drastic in our area, it’s a concerning trend that may be foreshadowing the demise of agriculture and the nation’s cotton industry as we know it.

Infrastructure Decline

It’s not just producers that need a good crop year. Cotton infrastructure desperately needs a crop. In the past two crop years, five gins closed in the PCG service area. One of those gins reopened for last season, three gins are dormant and one other gin is uncertain.  This is not counting the gins that are still viable but didn’t have a crop to process last year. Several are deciding whether they will open this year.

“When your livelihood depends on throughput, and your capacity exceeds your throughput for an extended period of time, then your business is going to be under serious economic strain,” said Mike Cowley, vice president and lead relationship manager for CoBank. “A healthy supply chain starts with a successful farmer. Farmers need a Farm Bill that will help them stay in business. If we’re going to penalize the most efficient producers in the world by not giving them a safety net that protects them, then we’re giving other countries a serious competitive edge — and that’s just one of the concerning ramifications.”

We’re all coming up with more questions than we are answers right now in this economy. Will more gins close? Will more farmers go out of business? When we do have a good crop, will there be enough infrastructure left to process it?

Right now, the future looks bleak. However, as one producer said to me six months after I started this job, “You can’t be a farmer without faith.”

I have faith that Congress will take the state of our ag economy seriously. The Senate needs to take our ag economy seriously. Secretary Vilsack needs to take our ag economy seriously. Telling the nation that farmers are fine because they’ve had the largest income in the last 50 years is irresponsible and damaging to the main sector that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been charged to help.

If the goal is to protect the nutrition programs, then protect our farmers. They need relief.

Without them, we’re going to have a real hunger crisis on our hands.

P.S. Everyone needs to call their Representatives and Senators to tell them how desperately producers need this farm safety net that was passed out of the House Ag Committee in May. According to many in the industry, including Cowley, this bill does more for farmers than the last several — going back all the way back to 2002.

Rep. Jodey Arrington: (202) 225-4005

Rep. Ronny Jackson: (202) 225-3706

Rep. August Pfluger:  (202) 225-3605

Sen. John Cornyn: (202) 224-2934

Sen. Ted Cruz: (202) 224-5922

Welcome to the July 12, 2024 issue of Cotton News, a service provided by Plains Cotton Growers Inc. for the cotton industry in the Texas High Plains and beyond.

PCIP Strives to Fulfill Mission for Producers

2023 Final County Yields Announced; AIPs issuing 2023 STAX Payments

In Case You Missed It

Cotton Extension Specialist Ken Legé presents a RACE trial in Crosby County on July 12, 2024. Photo Credit: Brooke Shumate, Texas A&M AgriLife.

On July 12, the Plains Cotton Improvement Program took center stage at the Plains Cotton Advisory Group meeting, as Ken Legé provided a virtual tour of a Replicated Agronomic Cotton Evaluation (RACE) trial in Crosby County. Legé, the cotton extension specialist for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and Research Center in Lubbock, along with extension entomologist Suhas Vyavhare, provided insight into crop conditions and pest management practices on Jonathan James’ farm near Mount Blanco, Texas.

James has been a long-time committee member of the Plains Cotton Improvement Program (PCIP) and is participating in two RACE trials with Legé as the grower operator.

For his trials, James has two weather stations — one on his irrigated field and one on a dryland field. The real-time data is valuable to him as he makes decisions throughout the growing season.

“We all know that just because one area received five-tenths of precipitation, not every field did,” James added. “It’s nice to see the data prove the variability — these stations are a mile apart from each other and yet the rainfall difference is pretty significant.” Want to see the difference? Click here. 

Legé intends for the RACE trials to benefit prohttps://www.plainscotton.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-12-at-5.36.15 PM.pdfducers and seed companies with data that will help determine the most successful cottonseed varieties for the Texas High Plains.

“We want this information to be useful for our producers,” he said. “That’s the whole mission of PCIP and extension’s partnership with this program.”

Behind the scenes of the RACE trial virtual showcase at the July 12 Plains Cotton Advisory Group Meeting. Photo credits: Brendan Kelly, TTU and Brooke Shumate (inset), Texas A&M AgriLife.

Weather Stations:

This year, the Plains Cotton Improvement Committee voted to fund the purchase of weather stations for the RACE trial plots. This data can be accessed in real time from your smartphone or computer. To view on your computer, visit http://www.weatherlink.com/ and create an account to search weather stations.

To access on your smartphone download the WeatherLink app by Davis Instrumentals. (Link to Apple device app) (Link to Android device app)

Once you’ve signed up and logged in, you can search weather stations by name. The table below lists the names of the weather stations (last column on the right) as well as county locations.

Welcome to the June 28, 2024 issue of Cotton News, a service provided by Plains Cotton Growers Inc. for the cotton industry in the Texas High Plains and beyond.

Is The Muleshoe National Wildlife Rescue Stealing Cotton Acres?

Cotton Incorporated Launches “The Fabric of Now” Campaign

In Case You Missed It

In April four national wildlife refuges — including Muleshoe — received support from the federal government to expand their acreage. The original boundary set by the government limited potential growth, so the U.S. Department of Interiors lifted the boundary limitations.

However, there is no eminent domain process involved. It is all freedom of choice as to whether someone wants to sell their land to the refuge.

“Some of my best friends are cotton farmers,” said Jude Smith, manager of the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge and overseer of the expansion project. “We’re just looking to expand our conservation endeavors for wildlife and wetlands, but we’re not taking it by force.”

He went on to say some of the information being distributed by the American Stewards of Liberty group is a little misleading. The nonprofit champions private property rights and have dedicated a page of their website to what they call the “Muleshoe Land Grab.”

While the new plan allows the refuge to expand up to 700,000 acres in the Southern High Plains of West Texas and Eastern New Mexico, it doesn’t mean that the land will automatically be given to them or taken by force from the landowner. The plan will take decades to reach the goal set, according to Smith, and “will hopefully provide a flexible plan into the future for everyone involved.”

“Yes, it’s voluntary,” said Margaret Byfield, executive director of the American Standards of Liberty. “However, we are concerned that land will be taken under federal control through conservation easements or regulatory pressure from the government.

They create the problem for landowners by regulating practices through the Endangered Species Act, and then they come in with the solution: we’ll buy your land and then you won’t have to worry about it.”

Byfield goes on to say that conservation easements can potentially yield all control to the government as well. If entering a conservation easement contract, it’s important to read the fine print, and, according to Jay Bragg, associate director of Commodity and Regulatory Activities for Texas Farm Bureau, consult with your attorney, family and heirs. “This is a big decision,” agreed Smith. “No one should ever feel rushed to enter into an agreement.”

However, if landowners pay careful attention to their contracts should they desire to enter into one, they still retain ownership of the property even if they sell their development right through a conservation easement.

Byfield claims this plan was enacted to achieve the goals of the Biden Administration’s “America the Beautiful” initiative — also known as the 30×30 vision within Biden’s climate crisis executive order issued shortly after he took office in 2020. The 30×30 vision aims for the U.S. to conserve at least 30% of U.S. lands and freshwater and 30% of U.S. ocean areas by 2030.

“It’s all about government control, which will decimate local economies by taking land out of production and out of local County tax revenue,” Byfield added.

Smith emphasized the choice behind this plan. “It’s just an option for landowners who have been asking for this for more than a decade. They don’t have to sell, and we won’t take the land from them.”

PCG Key takeaways from visiting with both the American Stewards of Liberty and the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge:

• Read all the fine print from both sides.
• Talk to both parties before coming to an opinion.
• Calling this plan a land grab is inaccurate.
• There isn’t a “removal of acreage” — it’s an optional transaction should someone wish to sell or contract a conservation easement.
• If you “cross your t’s and dot your i’s” on the conservation easement contractual agreement, then you retain ownership rights of property.
• When evaluating land sales to the refuge or conservation easement, consult an attorney.
• Eminent domain is not involved in this process.
• This is not a federal mandate.

Disclaimer: The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. 

This 30-second commercial airs on major networks and is titled, “The Fabric of Phone-Free Fridays.” 

Taking advantage of trending topics that reach the target audience (18- to 34-year old females) — like phone-free Fridays or sleeping in — Cotton Incorporated has two TV ad spots running on major networks focused on capturing attention spans and influencing them toward cotton fiber.

These commercials were crafted with intention. From the couple with their dog (consumers are much more likely to be impacted by a commercial that features a pet) showcasing the durability and comfort of cotton sheets to the trendy young people enjoying a Friday night dinner with friends.

“We slowed down the motion toward the end of the commercial and turned off audio to capture attention to the relaxation element that these consumers are seeking,” said Kim Kitchings, senior vice president of Consumer Marketing for Cotton Incorporated.

And it worked. Roughly one-third of consumers surveyed said the commercials made them think differently about cotton and cotton products. “Most people think of cotton in terms of underwear or white T-shirts,” Kitchings added. “We are breaking through that stigma with this campaign.”

This 15-second commercial airs on major networks and is titled, “The Fabric of Sleeping In.”

One consumer remarked that he or she didn’t realize that cotton was breezy until he saw the “Sleeping In” commercial showing cotton curtains blowing in the breeze. Another said the commercial made him think of how versatile the fabric is.

After watching the “Phone-Free Friday” commercial featuring young people eating spaghetti and spilling drinks, another consumer said, “It made me think that perhaps there are ways to get stains out of cotton easier than I have experienced in the past.” (This is another important stigma Cotton Incorporated is breaking and why the stain care section of The Fabric of Our Lives website is one of the most highly visited of the company’s web presence.)

The campaign is disseminated through multiple social media channels as well including Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok.

The commercial content has been repurposed to fit social media formats and draw more attention to the versatility, comfort and durability of cotton fabric.

Cotton Incorporated has also latched onto the influencer space in social media. Social media influencers are similar to brand promoters. They use their content to build rapport with their followers, which makes them credible with their audience when they begin to recommend products. They highlight a brand’s message to specific target audiences and can have millions of followers depending on their influencer category.

Collaborations between brands and influencers is an effective marketing strategy for the 18–34-year-old range that Cotton Incorporated is focusing on currently. They’ve executed many of these partnerships, the most recent being the collaboration with Olympic gymnast hopeful Suni Lee and LoveShackFancy (a niche clothing store and e-commerce site with locations in predominantly affluent areas). The Cotton x LoveShackFancy collaboration will feature more than 100 cotton-rich items.

The exposure cotton has had through “The Fabric of Now” activities has been impressive. Millions of people have seen cotton through this promotion and are influenced to buy the products, which were designed with cotton materials.

There are future plans well underway to continue to increase cotton’s exposure to eager consumers, and PCG will continue to bring updates of Cotton Incorporated’s efforts on your behalf.

P.S. The U.S. Olympic Team’s opening day outfits will be designed by Ralph Lauren and will be made from denim! How exciting to see cotton win!

Welcome to the June 21, 2024 issue of Cotton News, a service provided by Plains Cotton Growers Inc. for the cotton industry in the Texas High Plains and beyond.

Faces of Cotton: Meet the Hollingsworths

CBO Releases Updated Budget and Economic Outlook

In Case You Missed It

By Kara Bishop

Three-year-old Robert Hollingsworth gets up early Saturday morning. It’s time to check on his crops. He pulls his little boots on and heads outside to start up his tricycle. He’s planted some wheat and hay grazer in some rows he set up in the front yard, much to his daddy’s dismay. It’s wet and muddy this morning — a little too treacherous for a tricycle ride. Little Robert stares at his trike and thinks. He has to check his crops, and while he could just walk the ten feet over there, his daddy always drives out to the farm. So, he needs to drive out to his just like daddy does it.

Suddenly it comes to him. He finds some baling wire out in the garage and wraps his front tricycle tire in wire. He’ll cut some deep ruts in the yard, but he won’t get stuck. After all, his horse needs hay so he must press on. At three years old, Robert has all the makings of an ingenious steward of the land. Just like his daddy.

Farming is all he knows and is all he has ever wanted to do. With 280 acres of land that his great-grandfather homesteaded in 1906, he dreamed of farming it like his father and grandfather before him.

But the challenges that plague farmers today were roadblocks for young producers like Robert back then as well. Access to land, crop prices and input costs kept Robert from making a true living off the land. He went to work for the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) in Panhandle, Texas, in 1982.

Stretched Thin

While he had a full-time job, Robert still wanted to farm. It was a punishing schedule during planting and harvest seasons.

8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. – work at TXDOT
7:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. – plow or plant at the farm
2:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m. – nap, shower and get ready for work

When he had a spare moment, he worked on his sons’ race cars and took them to races on the weekends.

“If I could get four hours of sleep a night, I felt pretty lucky,” he said.

Robert may have been stretched thin, but that didn’t make him mediocre. For TXDOT, he invented a lay-down machine that fits on the front of a maintainer for paving roads. Robert’s invention would lay the road automatically with very little shovel work involved. His lay-down contraption became a model and showpiece for other districts to copy and implement into their processes. Because his innovation reduced man hours and manpower needed, the state of Texas saved $30 million annually on road systems.

He competed in state and national events with his invention — and won, giving the $10,000 in proceeds to the West Texas A&M engineering program.

Second Chance

On January 1, 2009, Robert transferred to the Groom TXDOT office and became Karen’s boss.

Neither Robert nor Karen could have imagined their union taking place. Both were convinced they’d never marry again. Both were content with that.

Finding each other just happened.

“It was from the Lord,” Robert said.

“It was weird,” Karen added. “The first time we held hands, I just knew I had the right person. I would have married him right then had he asked me to.”

When Karen’s job in Groom became a district-wide position, she transferred to the Pampa office. Robert and Karen began dating at that time and marry in 2010.

Enjoying the Reward

Today Robert and Karen live in a beautiful red barndominium they built five years ago after almost a decade of sketching, designing and dreaming.

They farm dryland milo, wheat, cotton and run a few cows. They love spending time with their grandkids and the RV life, when time allows, working together and playing pickle ball.

It took Robert years to acquire the land, equipment and assets needed to make farming work full time. He retired from TXDOT in 2012 and now does what he’s always wanted to do. Farm the land. While driving to a section outside of Claude, he said, “It took me 28 years to put this section of land together. I bought it piece by piece and had a couple of half circles sold out from under me a couple of times, but I finally got it.”

During Thanksgiving in 2016, Robert and Karen decided they were going to try growing cotton. Karen printed everything out she could find on it and made a book for Robert to study by the fire in the winter.

“I would cuss those boys around me for growing cotton, because I hated it so much,” Robert added. “We were grain farmers, so, when we decided it was a good idea to implement cotton into our rotation, I ate a lot of crow and apologized to every one of those guys. Cotton was just something we never thought we would grow, in fact, my dad would be rolling in his grave if he knew we were farming it today.”

Their 2017 crop was the best cotton crop they’ve harvested so far, producing 2.9 bales per acre of dryland cotton that year.

“The biggest things we learned were to not be afraid to plant that cotton seed a little deeper and to use plant growth regulator,” Karen said.

People often seem surprised at how well Robert and Karen work together. It’s not your typical husband/wife dynamic. But it’s not every day two people get a second chance at love, either. They’re grateful for each other and never take it for granted. They do it all, just the two of them, planting, spraying, harvesting year after year after year.

“We laugh together, we cry together, we play hard, we work hard, and we just enjoy life.” Robert said. “The Lord has blessed us and provided all we have ever needed.”The cotton they planted in late April came up and is still going strong.

“I have faith that the Lord will provide what I need,” Robert said. “He’s taken great care of me so far.”

By Jim Wiesemeyer, ProFarmer

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its updated projections for the federal budget and economy from 2024 to 2034.

Key Highlights

Budget projections:

• 2024 deficit: Projected at $1.9 trillion, or $2.0 trillion (7.0% of GDP) when adjusted for timing shifts.
• 2034 deficit: Expected to reach $2.8 trillion (6.9% of GDP).
• 2024-2034 total deficit: Estimated at $24 trillion, 70% larger than the historical average relative to economic output.
• Federal outlays: Expected to rise from 24.2% of GDP in 2024 to 24.9% in 2034, driven by increased interest costs and spending on Medicare and Social Security.
• Federal revenues: Forecasted to increase from 17.2% of GDP in 2024 to 18.0% by 2027, stabilizing near that level through 2034.
• Public debt: Projected to rise from 99% of GDP in 2024 to 122% in 2034, surpassing its historical peak.

Changes in budget projections:

• The 2024 deficit is $0.4 trillion higher than previously projected in February 2024, due to:
  • $145 billion increase in student loan outlays.
  • $70 billion increase in deposit insurance outlays.
  • $60 billion increase due to newly enacted legislation.
  • $50 billion increase in Medicaid outlays.
• Over the 2025-2034 period, the cumulative deficit is larger by $2.1 trillion, mainly due to newly enacted legislation, including $95 billion for aid to Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific region.

Economic projections:

• Economic growth: Expected to slow from 3.1% in 2023 to 2.0% in 2024.
• Inflation: Projected to be slightly lower in 2024 than in 2023, due to recovered supply chains, higher unemployment, and increased long-term interest rates.
• Interest rates: Short-term rates are expected to remain high, with the federal funds rate at its highest since 2001.

Immigration surge:

• From 2021 to 2026, net immigration is projected to be 8.7 million higher than historical levels.
• The surge is expected to increase nominal GDP by $8.9 trillion (2.4%) over the 2024-2034 period.
• The immigration surge will raise interest rates by 0.1 percentage point by 2034 and lower deficits by $0.9 trillion, with revenues increasing by $1.2 trillion and mandatory spending and interest outlays rising by $0.3 trillion.

CBO says that one culprit for the larger deficit this year is Congress’s recent military aid bill. But overall defense spending is still falling as a share of the economy and is expected to hit a postwar low of 2.8% of GDP in 2034. Also, if spending as a share of GDP remained at the pre-pandemic average, the deficit would be roughly $890 billion this year and $13.4 trillion smaller than CBO’s 10-year projection. This would keep debt as a share of GDP at roughly 90%.

Phillip L. Swagel, CBO’s Director, emphasizes that these projections incorporate the impacts of the immigration surge and recent legislative changes on the federal budget and economy.

CBO projects $1.9 trillion federal budget deficit for FY 2024. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the federal budget deficit for FY 2024 will reach $1.9 trillion, which is $400 billion higher than the estimate from four months ago. ($300 billion larger than last year’s deficit). The increase is attributed to President Biden’s student loan forgiveness program (which CBO estimates could cost $211 billion this year above what it estimated in February), spending on Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific region, slow recovery of bank failure costs by the FDIC, and higher Medicare spending (higher enrollment). CBO increased its Affordable Care Act (ACA/ObamaCare) spending estimate by $22 billion for this year and $244 billion over the next decade. It also raised its ACA enrollment projection by four million for this year and an average of three million over the next 10 years.

Over the next decade, the CBO projects the deficit will total $24 trillion. Link to report.

— The interest burden of the debt is significant. According to EconoFact Chats (link):

• Interest payments on federal government debt are projected to be $892 billion in 2024,representing 3.1% of GDP. Net outlays for interest have never exceeded 3.2% of GDP since 1940.
• Interest payments, at 13% of federal spending in 2024, represent the third highest category of spending, ahead of spending on defense, Medicare and income security programs. This contrasts with the situation in 2017 when net interest payments made up 7% of government outlays.
• Projections of the interest burden of the debt have increased dramatically over the past four years. The Congressional Budget Office currently projects that interest payments on debt will be about 15% of federal spending in 2030. Four years ago, the projection for 2030 was about 9%.
• Rising levels of debt service contribute to fiscal challenges. Higher interest payments mean less government spending is available for defense, social safety net programs, research, and other important government functions like a farm bill.

CBO is big player in farm bill negotiations.

The CBO is the official scorekeeper of legislative proposals and in release a farm bill baseline. The ongoing farm bill debate has a $1.51 trillion baseline over ten years. While CBO on Tuesday updated its forecasts, the farm bill baseline remains the same because House Ag Chair GT Thompson (R-Pa.) got his proposal approved in his panel by the end of May.

CBO now says USDA’s use of its Section 5 authority under the CCC would total $12 billion from fiscal year (FY) 2025 through 2034. In February, USDA estimated that it would spend $15 billion over that period. But either tally is nowhere near the $50 billion or more the House Agriculture Committee needs to fund commodity program increases.

Link to CBO estimates of CCC spending

Link to CBO June 2024 baseline

Link to CBO June 2024 SNAP spending | Another link to CBP on SNAP

Stabenow uses CBO updates to make her farm bill case.

The new CBO projections “prove what we have been saying all along: the House Republican farm bill is unpaid-for, relying on magic math and wishful thinking,” Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) said in a statement. “In exchange for blocking USDA’s ability to provide real time assistance to farmers through the CCC to address emerging challenges, House Republicans received only a small fraction of the $50 billion hole they need to fill to pay for their bill,” she said.

Stabenow said her Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act “is meaningful and responsible.

“And, importantly, it does not fracture the farm and food coalition that is the foundation of every successful farm bill,” she added. “I did the hard work of securing new resources outside of the farm bill through $2.3 billion invested in trade promotion and food aid and a $5 billion commitment in bipartisan offsets from my Leadership. It’s time to get real and stop the posturing and the rhetoric. It’s time to negotiate in reality. My door is open.”

Sen. John Boozman (R-AR), ranking member of the Senate Ag Committee, told us via an AgriTalk interview on Tuesday (link) that he thinks the House needs to pass its farm bill to put pressure on Stabenow and Democrats.

Welcome to the June 14, 2024 issue of Cotton News, a service provided by Plains Cotton Growers Inc. for the cotton industry in the Texas High Plains and beyond.

Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) Unveils Senate Ag GOP Farm Bill Framework

2024 Hailout/Replant/Late Plant Guide Released

In Case You Missed It

Following the Chairman’s mark of the 2024 Farm Bill on May 23, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR) sought to maintain farm bill momentum by unveiling his proposed framework June 11.

Boozman’s proposal aligns closely with the House bill and includes increasing crop reference prices, expanding base acres, strengthening conservation and nutrition, and limiting the Secretary of Agriculture’s authority over the Commodity Credit Corporation, to name a few.

To download the comparison chart, click the image above.

A long-time dedicated advocate for U.S. farmers and ranchers, Boozman is insistent that “more farm be put in the farm bill.”

According to Senate Ag GOP analysis, the lack of funding in Title I of the 2018 Farm Bill was the catalyst behind the ad hoc disaster assistance paid out over the last six years.

Boozman stressed that more funding is needed for the farm safety net, which he says is taken care of in his bill.

“From the onset of this process, we have sought to draft a farm bill that reflects the needs of stakeholders, Boozman said. “The world has changed dramatically since the 2018 bill became law, and the unprecedented challenges and economic uncertainty that farmers face now are only projected to get worse in the coming years.”

We hope lawmakers will seriously consider the farm bill proposal from Senate Ag GOP and work together to create a bipartisan bill that protects our farmers and ranchers, thereby strengthening our industries and economies. We will continue to provide updates as we work toward finalizing a robust farm policy in 2024.

The primary objectives of this guide include providing producers with:

1. Guidelines for crop replant options after failed crops, especially cotton.
2. Assist with late-season planting decisions where timely planting, duration to crop maturity, and fall weather risk may impact successful cropping.
3. Provide contractor contact information as well as recent approximate pricing, particularly for crops where price is fixed at contract signing.
4. This information is applicable as well for the Texas Panhandle, Texas Rolling Plains, and the Concho Valley region. The planting dates will change for crop and location.

New information/What has changed since 2022?

Additions or significantly revised points include:

2024

• Comments on Enlist cotton and plant-back restrictions.
• The last recommended planting date for guar has been moved forward five days due to the need to plant earlier for a better chance at full maturity especially to help achieve better test weight to minimize a discount.

2023

• Guar Resources, Brownfield, TX, has reopened under a new owner and is contracting guar for 2023.
• “Sugarcane aphid” is in fact actually the sorghum aphid. Genetic tests confirm this. What we have known as SCA is not a new biotype. Management recommendations do not change with this new identification.
• The ethanol plant in Hockley Co. is reopened in fall 2023 giving local grain sorghum growers an additional potential and competitive market.
• Grain sorghum replant options now include herbicide tolerant hybrids that enable grass control in existing sorghum crops.

Download the report here. 

Welcome to the June 7, 2024 issue of Cotton News, a service provided by Plains Cotton Growers Inc. for the cotton industry in the Texas High Plains and beyond.

Texas High Plains Crop Conditions Are a Mixed Bag, Per Usual

FCIC Board Approves New Subsidy Rate for ECO Beginning with 2025 Insurance Year

In Case You Missed It

While planters are still rolling, it’s estimated that 75% of the Texas High Plains cotton planting has been completed. Some areas have received moisture over the spring while others are still coming up short.

An overturned pivot on U.S. Highway 87 north of Tahoka. PCG Director of Field Services Mark Brown said he saw at least 16 of these pivots overturned from the highway while traveling to Big Spring on June 6.

The storm that went through Levelland, New Home and Tahoka in late May wreaked havoc on the towns and surrounding farmland. PCG Director of Field Services Mark Brown said he counted 16 overturned pivots while driving to Big Spring on June 6. “And that was just what I could see from the highway,” he added. With Hockley County’s planting deadline already passed (June 5) and Lynn County’s planting deadline just around the corner (June 10), the damaged irrigation equipment is concerning for cotton producers in these areas.

While planting conditions are better on the Texas High Plains than they were last year, we’re still looking at a mixed bag of circumstances across the region. Producer reports show the good, bad and the ugly as cotton begins to emerge from the soil. “The leaf was laying right there on the ground and it just looked dehydrated,” said Walt Hagood, producer in Hockley County.

“I’ve seen those cotyledons kind of hunkered down and sometimes you dig and find the roots are in moisture,” said Ken Legé, cotton extension specialist for the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Lubbock. “However, when it’s 100 degrees outside, sometimes that soil is 120 to135 degrees, and the effect of the demand has those cotyledons folding.”

Subsoil moisture or rather the lack thereof is causing some challenges for producers in Lubbock County. “When the ground below is so dry, it’s like a big dead battery and it pulls the juice from what you’ve got on top,” said Lubbock producer Burt Heinrich. “The 100-degree weather is obviously a factor, but it’s also the dirt underneath that’s pulling the moisture down below where the root can reach. It makes the inch of rain you get a little more ineffective when the subsoil is parched.”

However, Heinrich went on to add that he has seen some good cotton in the area even with the subsoil challenges. “I would say it’s not the average yet, but a lot of cotton can become close to what we expect to see. We got a rain last night nearly everywhere on our farms, and any rain right now will help that little plant if it doesn’t storm it out.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Texas Crop Progress and Conditions Report released June 3, Upland cotton is predominantly in “good” condition at 47% for the week (ending June 2). South Texas’ crop appears to be in good condition, but producers down there are dealing with abnormal drought and need a good rain to maintain the progress they’ve made as they go into their harvest season.

Let’s all continue to pray for timely rains for our producers.

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Board of Directors met May 23 and approved an increase in the subsidy rate growers will receive when purchasing the Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO). This change will come into effect with the 2025 insurance year, which begins with policies sold after July 1, 2024.

With the change ECO will now receive a 65 percent premium subsidy rate – an increase of 21 percentage points from the endorsement’s current 44 percent level.

The change, which is effective regardless of the outcome of current farm bill discussions, brings the ECO endorsement subsidy to the same level as the existing subsidy rate provided for the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) endorsement. The higher ECO subsidy level could increase interest in ECO among producers by reducing the cost of the coverage.

ECO is a companion policy that can provide additional county-based shallow-loss coverage on top of the coverage provided by an underlying multi-peril revenue or yield policy and/or a Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) endorsement. ECO protection can be selected to cover losses beginning at 90% or 95% of a county’s expected revenue for the insured crop.

The ECO endorsement cannot be purchased when a producer buys the Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX) on cotton. Since ECO does not provide coverage that overlaps the protection provided by the USDA FSA Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) program, a grower may participate in ECO and ARC simultaneously as long as they have not also purchased an SCO endorsement.

Welcome to the May 31, 2024 issue of Cotton News, a service provided by Plains Cotton Growers Inc. for the cotton industry in the Texas High Plains and beyond.

Farm Bill 2024: Are You in the Arena or Sitting in the Cheap Seats

How Would New Payment Limit Work Under House Farm Bill Proposal

In Case You Missed It

By Kara Bishop

I’m considering turning off my Google alerts for the phrase “Farm Bill.”

Since the proposed legislation was voted out of committee last week, these have been the headlines from the press:

• Farm Bill advances from U.S. House Ag Panel but faces a tough row to hoe
• Vilsack Says House Proposal Threatens Farm Bill Coalition
• Vilsack Outlines His Opposition to House Farm Bill
• Farm Bill Clears US House Ag Committee, But Likely Won’t Get Widespread Congressional Support as Revision Process Continues

This is not an exhaustive list — there are loads more. This is the vibe and media pitch that everyone is inundated with right now. While it’s not wrong to report the ins and outs of the legislative process for something like the Farm Bill, the press tends to focus on the negative. The talking heads seem to focus on the negative. And it’s exhausting to read it all.

I can’t imagine what it’s like having to experience it as a producer trying to make a living when all you hear is:

• “It’s never going to get passed out of the House.”
• “The Senate will never compromise to pass this bill.”
• “It’s going to be extended. There’s no way we have a farm bill in 2024.”

There’s always going to be noise that is irrelevant to action. There is always going to be someone weighing in from the sidelines not doing the work, sitting in the cheap seats issuing opinions without evidence. What’s frustrating, and even a little surprising, is that some of the Monday-morning quarterbacks on the 2024 Farm Bill are in agriculture.

On April 23, 1910, former president Theodore Roosevelt delivered one of the most powerful speeches in U.S. history while touring Europe. That day, 25,000 people packed the streets of Paris to hear him speak.

To sum up, it’s basically a rant on cynics looking down on people who try to make the world a better place. This is my favorite excerpt; taken from a sign I have in my office:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is not effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement. And who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.  

House Ag Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) is in the arena. There are multiple Representatives and Senators in the arena fighting for farmers with him. And PCG stands with them.

We’ve had talking heads, politicians and some agriculture groups saying there will not be a farm bill this year. That we will have an extension. I mean, it’s bad enough that the media is beating that drum, but even some of our own are adding to the proverbial noise. It’s getting one-sided and loud.

I understand there are challenges and a million tiny pieces that must line up just perfectly right for the 2024 Farm Bill to become law. I understand that the reality on the ground is an uphill battle — hasn’t that been the case with almost every farm bill? What I don’t understand is why some are making it harder for our advocates by agreeing with the obstacles rather than rising above them. The naysayers need to believe.

Because what is told to the press and published on communication channels gets back to our lawmakers. And they need to believe, too. They need a little support and motivation from agriculture to keep fighting the good fight.

Because we have some vocal opponents. Some loud opponents to this House Ag Committee Farm Bill Proposal — including the secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Why would anyone feed their noise when we can make our own?

The answer to questions about the farm bill that just passed out of the House Ag Committee is simple: We need this farm bill. It’s a good bill. It’s bipartisan. (There were four democrats that voted it out of committee when all the noise said there might be one.) It provides an actual farm safety net that could do producers and industry alike some real good for the next five years. And we need it because we grow the food and fiber of the world in an abundant and safe way for everyone.

Let’s make some noise as believers.

Farm CPA Report with Paul Neiffer

The House Farm Bill proposal has an option to increase the payment limit from the current $125,000 to $155,000 beginning with the 2025 crop year and then index it to inflation. However, in order to qualify for the increase, your adjusted gross income (AGI) from farming must be greater than 75% compared to total AGI.

The wording of the bill indicates that this test is applied to an individual or entity but does not include the new “qualified pass-through” entity. Therefore, the test for any entity taxed as a partnership or S corporation will be determined at the owner level to see if either the $125,000 or $155,000 limit will apply.

Let’s look at some examples (these are based on a three-year average):

Gretchen has a Schedule F that shows $75,000 of net income including any related equipment gains on Form 4797. Her spouse shows $50,000 of wage income. As a couple, Gretchen would not qualify for the increased payment limit. However, she may get an attorney or CPA to write a letter indicating if she filed separately then she would qualify. But remember, the increased payment limit only helps if she has payments greater than $125,000.

Let’s assume that Gretchen is single and has Schedule F income of $65,000 and also works in town making $30,000. She would not qualify for the increased payment limit.

ABC Farm Corporation has $200,000 of farm income reported on a substitute Schedule F but has income of $100,000 from wind turbine leases. FSA considers all of this income to be farm income and would qualify for the increase.

ABC Farm Corporation has $500,000 of farm income, but also $200,000 of income from an investment in a non-farm activity. Since farm income is less than 75% of total income, then the corporation does not qualify for the increase.

Let’s assume that ABC Farm Corporation has four equal owners who all have farm AGI over 75%. Since this is an C corporation, the payment limit remains at $125/155,000. However, if it was an S corporation, its payment limit would be four times as high, however, it is likely there would be a reduction since all of the owners likely received farm program payments too. Remember, that the maximum is split between entities and owners to make sure the payments do not exceed the maximum allocated jointly between owners and entities.

As an example, assume that the corporation qualified for $500,000 of payments and each of the four owners qualified for $100,000 for total qualified payments of $900,000. The maximum that can be paid to the corporation and the four owners if $620,000 (4 X $155,000) and thus a pro-rata reduction would be applied.

XYZ Farms LLC has four equal owners. The LLC qualifies for $700,000 of payments, however, three of the owners have farm AGI less than 75%, therefore, the LLC will only receive $530,000 instead of the maximum $620,000 allowed if all four had farm AGI over 75%.

MNO Farms, a general partnership, qualifies for $1 million of farm program payments. It has 7 equal owners, however, none of them have farm AGI greater than 75%, therefore, the partnership will only receive $875,000 instead of the full $1 million if all were greater than 75%. Also, if any of the owners received a payment, then a pro-rata reduction would be applied to MNO payment too.

Now, let’s assume that MNO Farms only has four actively involved owners and the other three are not involved at all. Of the four actively involved farmers, three have farm AGI over 75% and one does not. In this case, the total amount of farm payments allowed is three @ $155,000 and one @ $125,000 or a total of $590,000. The three that are not involved removes those payment limits from the calculation. Also, pro-rata reduction may be applied to MNO.

As you can see, in some cases you will get the increase and in other cases you would not. However, this is just a proposal, and it will require the House to vote yes on it and for the Senate to agree. This likely will not happen but we may be pleasantly surprised.

We will keep you posted.

Welcome to the May 24, 2024 issue of Cotton News, a service provided by Plains Cotton Growers Inc. for the cotton industry in the Texas High Plains and beyond.

The Farm Bill “Super Bowl” – First Quarter

Upcoming Events

In Case You Missed It

It’s been a while since I’ve gone to Washington D.C. and returned home energized. For the first time in a long time, I saw governance for the people in action. Just like watching a really good football game that you think about for years to come, yesterday’s markup session was nothing short of epic.

Coin toss
House prevails and chooses to receive; the 2024 Farm Bill is finally underway.

Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson has done a masterful job in serving as the “quarterback” of the Committee. He and most of his colleagues from both sides of the aisle have spent the last three years traveling to learn about agriculture issues, challenges and needs in farm country. All offseason they’ve been preparing for the traditional five-year game known as the The Farm Bill.

Offense, You’re Up
Right before sending him into the game, Coach Herman Boone in “Remember the Titans” said to QB Ronnie Bass:  “You’re the colonel, you’re going to command your troops!” That’s exactly what Chairman Thompson did in a stately and poetic fashion during the lengthy committee markup of one of the most robust Farm Bills crafted since 2002.

May 23 was an epic day. While the House Agriculture Committee is a frequently visited place, the markup event amassed collective agriculture and non-agriculture groups all in the same place. Some aligned on issues and others not, but respectfully coming together to collaborate and work on a comprehensive legislative package that benefits agriculture and nutrition-based initiatives important to both Republicans and Democrats.

PCG attends an event for House Ag Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) and Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX).

It was ecliptic. Congress functioned for the first time in a long time. They introduced and debated tough issues and amendments on an important piece of legislation to the overall people. And, as intended by the founders of democracy, voted on them based on the need of their constituents. It was a good day to be on The Hill.

The House Playbook
Plains Cotton Growers proudly support this legislation. It is the culmination of years of work by the seven segments of cotton: producers, ginners, warehousers, merchants, cottonseed, cooperatives, and manufacturers can all benefit from this legislation.

While there are many positive provisions within the mark, the following are especially worth highlighting for the Texas cotton industry:

• Increasing the statutory reference price for seed cotton to 42 cents per pound;
• Enhancing the premium support for the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) to 80 percent, along with boosting the top coverage level to 90%;
• Raising the Marketing Assistance Loan (MAL) rate for Upland cotton to 55 cents per pound and for extra-long staple (PIMA) cotton to one dollar per pound — coupled with enhancements to the MAL repayment provisions that will improve cotton’s overall competitiveness and flow;
• Including harvest incentive research to support cotton producers and cotton infrastructure in times of peril; and
• Substantially increasing the funding for the Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development Program.

PCG is proud of the yeoman’s work that has taken place by many helping hands to get us to this point. Years of development and strategy on enhancing policy are now coming to fruition.

The next steps are to secure floor time for the House Ag Committee mark and the Senate to take the field.

While the process seams murky, I am optimistic we will get a Farm Bill done by the end of the year — one that producers and industry alike will be proud of.

Stay tuned for the Second Quarter.

South Plains Field Scout School
Date: May 31, 2024
Location: Hale County Extension Office, Plainview, Texas

Plains Cotton Growers Advisory Group Meeting
Date: June 7, 2024
Location: PCG Conference Room, Lubbock, Texas

For a full list of upcoming events, see the Events Page.

Welcome to the May 17, 2024 issue of Cotton News, a service provided by Plains Cotton Growers Inc. for the cotton industry in the Texas High Plains and beyond.

The Ripple Effect

Final 2023 County Production Estimates Released

Upcoming Events

In Case You Missed It

By Kara Bishop

Every year, the North Plains Groundwater Conservation District puts on the Save the Planet Water Festival for fourth-grade students in the Panhandle.  And every year, the students walk into the classroom for the cotton session that we host confused about why cotton is at the water festival.

They may be confused, but they’re still excited. It’s one of the highlights of my year to go to this event and see nine- and ten-year old children excited about cotton. To see them light up when I tell them cotton is in ice cream and money. To see them immediately try to take their shirts off to check their clothing label after we talk about the damage microplastics in water can do to humans and wildlife alike. To see them excited when they realize their water festival T-shirt is 100% cotton.

And by the end of the day, nearly 300 students have been told to check their clothing labels for cotton, to purchase cotton-rich apparel and to tell everyone they know to do the same.

This type of outreach doesn’t get the same attention as others. It’s not considered a top priority for everyone. But I would argue it’s one of the most important things that we do. One of the most effective ways to create a consumer demand for cotton is to start with the young minds.

When they’re in the halls comparing how much cotton they have in their clothes, I see cotton’s future. And that may seem dramatic, but my son is nearly in fourth grade, and he brings home information to me all the time and insists that we act on it. These children can influence their families in ways that we underestimate.

And who knows? Maybe some of them will tell their familes about the amount of plastic humans consume in a week — in large part to washing polyester clothes — and it will be the change we’ve been waiting to see.

It was a great week in Perryton and Dalhart. We appreciate North Plains Groundwater Conservation District for allowing us to be a part of this important education opportunity. And God bless these kids — they love to learn and now they love cotton!

The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released final county production estimates for Upland cotton on Friday, May 10 and the data shows Texas produced 2.7 million Upland cotton bales in 2023. Texas High Plains cotton production is an estimated 1,468,151 bales for the year.

Among High Plains counties that have official NASS data to review, only 5 counties produced more than 100,000 bales in 2023. Those counties were: Lubbock -177,500; Crosby – 134,500; Floyd – 134,000; Hockley – 130,000; and Hale – 119,000.

According to the January 2, 2024 USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Certified Acreage report High Plains producers planted 3.442 million acres in 2023, while acres remaining for harvest totaled 1.341 million. Weather related losses led to 60% abandonment of planted acres in the region.

The USDA NASS data is a testament to the tough growing conditions that plagued the state in 2023. Unfortunately, the agency only published county-level data for 61 of the 162 counties that planted cotton in 2023, which equates to only 38% of raw data reported.

Only 22 counties in PCG’s  42-county service area had official USDA NASS data released. Production from the remaining counties was estimated using a calculated USDA NASS district average yield from published county data and January certified acreage data.

The preceding paragraphs lead to a question of NASS relevancy. Is this USDA faction useful anymore? Given their recent discontinuation of the cotton objective yield survey and all county estimates for crops and livestock, which is data that industry has relied upon for years, it’s certainly something to think about. While we appreciate our colleagues at the state and regional offices who strive to do their job, the necessity of this entity, given the way they operate at the federal level, is definitely questionable.

STAX Payments Likely

It appears most of the cotton producers across the High Plains who purchased coverage under the 2023 Stacked Income Protection Plan will receive indemnity payments under the policy.

This should certainly be the case for non-irrigated acres covered under a 2023 STAX policy, as almost every High Plains County is likely to see a maximum indemnity payment calculated. For irrigated cotton the STAX payment outlook is less clear, although most counties are expected to see some level of indemnity.

Using USDA data to get a sense for where final STAX yields might land it appears that irrigated cotton in most High Plains counties is likely to receive some level of payment under the 2023 STAX policy. A majority of irrigated STAX payments are likely to be less than the maximum possible under the policy.

Irrigated STAX policies in two counties, Hale and Crosby, appear to be “on the bubble” in terms of triggering a 2023 STAX payment. Whether or not these two counties trigger an irrigated STAX payment will depend on the final production numbers reported to USDA Risk Management Agency.

Final payment amounts will be determined by the USDA Risk Management Agency using 2023 production data reported by producers.

Plains Cotton Growers Advisory Group Meeting
Date: May 24, 2024
Location: PCG Conference Room, Lubbock, Texas

South Plains Field Scout School
Date: May 31, 2024
Location: Hale County Extension Office, Plainview, Texas

Plains Cotton Growers Advisory Group Meeting
Date: June 7, 2024
Location: PCG Conference Room, Lubbock, Texas

For a full list of upcoming events, see the Events Page.