The Cotton Board Approves Cotton Inc. 2023 Budget, Elects New Officers
August 21, 2022 During The Cotton Board’s recent Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, AZ, board members serving the Cotton Research and Promotion Program reviewed, analyzed, and voted to recommend Cotton Incorporated’s 2023 budget of $87 million to the Secretary of Agriculture – a $5 million increase from 2022.
The 2023 Cotton Incorporated plan and budget remains focused on addressing several key industry issues to increase cotton’s market share and ensure long-term profitability for the industry. Key priorities outlined in Cotton Incorporated’s 2023 plan include enhancing supply chain transparency and cotton’s traceability, increasing producer profitability, enhancing cottonseed’s value, addressing contamination issues, and using marketing to build demand for cotton.
“In 2022, we actually received a little over $4 million in supplemental budget from The Cotton Board to take care of some capital needs in a timely fashion,” said Berrye Worsham, President and CEO of Cotton Incorporated. “Since the capital needs were taken care of this year, this $5 million increase for 2023 is very significant and can be immediately used to address major cotton issues and initiatives.”
(A full recap of Worsham’s commentary on the 2023 plan and budget can be found online.)
During its Business Session, The Cotton Board also elected a new slate of officers to serve one-year terms, including Sonja Chapman, an Importer from Boonton, NJ, to serve as Chairman of the Board. Chapman is currently the Director of International Traffic and Import Compliance for the Golden Touch/Jaclyn Groups, and an Associate Professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.
Sonja Chapman
Chapman commented on her election, saying, “I am honored to be given this opportunity to serve as Chairman of The Cotton Board,” commented Chapman. “I believe in the work we are doing here, and while I know that there are significant challenges ahead of us, it is clear to me this Program is well prepared to lead the industry through them. I look forward to the challenge of assisting the organization in its continued pursuit of profitability and demand for cotton.”
Other elected Cotton Board officers are:
Vice Chairman – Mark Nichols, Producer from Altus, OK
Secretary – Akiko Inui, Importer from New York City
Treasurer – Matt Famer, Producer from Lamesa, TX
Based on information provided by The Cotton Board
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