The Big Picture
January 4, 2010 If you’re already a subscriber to the Cotton Grower eNewsletter, you’re probably aware that I spend a good deal of the work week scanning the internet for cotton-related headlines.
Every once in a while, one of those headlines will give me reason to pause. That was just the case this past month, when I stumbled across a story from Bloomberg.com with this headline: ‘Tough Times for Cotton May Drive Prices Up 48 Percent.’
The story went on to explain how this season’s disastrous harvest-time conditions across the U.S. are expected to drive cotton prices upward in the coming year. While reading it, I couldn’t help but think of the conversations I’ve had with seasoned farmers and gin men over the past couple of years. To paraphrase, many have told me that 2007 and 2008 made them realize that the world doesn’t care whether or not the U.S. is growing cotton. America had cut back drastically on its acres, and world cotton prices didn’t budge, they argued.
To be honest, I couldn’t help but agree with them at the time. But if the latest reports are true, it looks like global stocks could finally be emptying out, which would bring some long overdue price relief to our crop.
This month, we went about the task of providing an accurate look at the net value of a cotton crop. Rather than simply take the price of cotton into account, we wanted to look at those other moving variables, too. We contacted our most knowledgeable sources and asked them about the things that impact your bottom line – things like precision agriculture techniques, input costs and the price of cottonseed. We came out with what we think is a comprehensive look at a cotton grower’s profit picture (page 10) that could put a stash in your wallet and a little extra pep in your step.
We’re also continuing on our series of stories examining glyphosate resistance (page 32), this time with a new management twist from noted Georgia Extension weed scientist Stanley Culpepper. And for those of you who are preparing to spend an exciting few days in January in the Big Easy, we’ll take a close look at the Beltwide Cotton Conferences (page 30).
We hope this issue makes you feel a little more confident about growing cotton in 2010, and we hope it finds you enjoying the Holidays and hunting season with your loved ones. As always, we’ll see you out there.
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