Dairy Industry Demand for Cottonseed Increasing
October 5, 2009 As quickly as cash disappeared from dairy farms in 2009, so too did forward contracts for feed. But a turnaround is likely for whole fuzzy cottonseed, according to senior cottonseed merchandiser Becky Butzler of Cottonseed LLC, La Crosse, WI.
Strategically situated on the Mississippi River, Cottonseed LLC received its final shipment of old- crop cottonseed by barge from Alabama in late September, and is cautiously pursuing new
contracts with cash-strapped dairy producers throughout the Upper Midwest.
“In the past few months, we’ve been seeing cottonseed go back into the ration,” she said. “Many
producers had stopped buying cottonseed, even if feeding it was the best thing to do on paper.”
Of those who continued to buy and feed cottonseed throughout the downturn, most turned to the
spot market. “When milk prices lost pace with rising feed cost, we saw more hand-to-
mouth purchasing,” Butzler explained. “As forward milk prices get more attractive, we’ll see those contracts pick back up. Cottonseed is one of those products farmers want to keep in the ration.”
While cottonseed is currently priced at $225 per ton delivered to farms in the La Crosse area, compared to $380 per ton ton last year, many producers remain gun shy, Butzler said.
According to Tom Wedegaertner, director, cottonseed research and marketing, Cotton Incorporated,
the 2009 cottonseed supply available for feed will remain about even with that of last year – about 2
million tons after crush, and “enough to feed about 4 million dairy cows.”
USDA’s September 12 prospective plantings report for 2009/10 forecasts total cottonseed production to reach 4.5 million tons this year, compared to 4.3 million tons in 2008 – a 4.6 percent increase, despite 33,000 fewer acres. Cotton acreage fell to 9.14 million acres from 9.47 million last year.
“Reduced acreage, primarily due to increased corn and soybean plantings, has been the big story in
the cotton industry for the past couple of years,” Wedegaertner said. “Higher yields and lower levels of crop abandonment will make up for some of the losses and boost the cottonseed supply.
Competing with dairies for that finite supply of cottonseed, however, are oil mills throughout the
South which produce cottonseed oil for the food industry. “Currently, the mills may be a better
Place financially to buy cottonseed,” he said.
According to Dr. Paul Chandler, retired nutritionist and regular Dairyline contributor, cottonseed
must be priced competitively, but “in most cases, whole fuzzy seed is still the most cost effective
way to provide nutritional support for fiber, protein and fat.
“Cottonseed is a unique feed ingredient that is difficult to mimic because it is a triple nutrient
supplier,” he continued. “It supplies protein, extra energy from its oil, and fibers that are both
immediately available, and more resistant and longer lasting. Other feed ingredients can supply one
or two of these three important features, but very few that can provide all three in a single package.
“If you commit yourself to the business of milking cows, there is not a least- cost scenario. You’ve got to keep the milk flow up on a daily basis. Cottonseed does just that.”
For more information, see: www.cottoninc.com
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