Citizens of the World
December 6, 2010 No other story line grabs the attention of our readers quite like a notable shift in cotton prices. That may seem like common knowledge to the vast majority of our readers, but it took me a while to learn.
Sure, there are other big issues facing U.S. cotton growers. Stories focusing on the Farm Bill or on the international trade dispute with Brazil always seem to generate a lot of buzz. But they pale in comparison to the response we see when Cotton Grower is dealing with cotton price fluctuations.
So when cotton prices climb sky high as they did in September and October of this year, I try and listen to what the growers are saying about the subject. Over lunch on the High Plains of Texas in late September, I was listening to two growers discuss the dip in prices on that particular day.
“India just announced they’re releasing exports,” one of them said, to my surprise. “They’ll be back up soon,” he added, and accurately as it turned out.
This little bit of otherwise unremarkable small talk made my jaw hit the floor. Since I’ve come on board at Cotton Grower, we’ve been stressing the importance of the international market to our readers. It wasn’t until I heard two guys discussing India’s economic policies over tea in the middle of a cotton field in Idalou, TX, that I realized our growers were paying attention all along.
Of course, Indian economists want to know what’s going on in Idalou, TX, as well. U.S. cotton yields are highly important to the international market, which is why they’d do well to pay attention to our 2011 Variety Preview in this issue. With the help of the seed companies, we’re bringing you the most comprehensive summary of the best cotton varieties on the market for the coming year.
As this growing season comes to a close, we hope cotton prices will continue to give you all something to talk about. We’ll be following along right there with you, as well as those who study U.S. cotton from Levelland, TX, to Liverpool, UK, and beyond.
GET THE NEWSLETTER TODAY!
