cotton
U.S. ag sales to China to fall by 45 percent in trade war
China, formerly the No. 1 customer for U.S. ag exports, will buy a comparatively paltry $9 billion worth of those exports this fiscal year, a startling 45 percent cutback due to the trade war, said the USDA on Thursday.
Hurricane Michael ruined 7 percent of the U.S. cotton crop
Georgia, the No. 2 cotton state, lost one-third of its crop to Hurricane Michael, said the USDA on Thursday in lowering its estimate of the total U.S. harvest by 7 percent because of storm damage in the Southeast.
Michael threatens Southeast’s crops and livestock
As Hurricane Michael made landfall Wednesday, farmers in the Southeast were still recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Florence just weeks ago.
State regulators call for early cutoff date for dicamba use
Many states have reported significant complaints from farmers about dicamba damage to their crops and plants, said an association of state pesticide regulators in calling for the EPA to tighten its rules on use of the weedkiller.
Groups ask appeals court to take dicamba off the market
Environmental groups told a U.S. appeals court on Wednesday that the EPA had failed to properly assess the risks posed by the weedkiller dicamba to nearby crops and should be ordered to revoke its approval of Monsanto’s version of the herbicide, reported Reuters.
USDA opens enrollment in new cotton subsidy program
Enrollment in a new cotton subsidy program, created by Congress early this year, will run until Dec. 7, said the USDA. The program, offered for so-called seed cotton, allows participants to choose from a pair of subsidy options.
In a surprise, farmers to cut corn and soy plantings by 2 percent
U.S. farmers intend to sow 3 million fewer acres of corn and soybeans this year than in 2017, said the USDA. The surprising development could draw down overly abundant U.S. stockpiles and bolster weak commodity prices.
Commodity price slump is ending, says USDA; gradual increases ahead
When U.S. farmers bring their crops to market this year, they will see “the beginning of gradual price increases that are expected to continue through the decade,” ending the slump that began in 2013, said USDA projections. Prices for most crops, however, will remain below their 10-year average.
A ‘David vs. Goliath battle’ over a weedkiller
The Arkansas State Plant Board, responding to nearly 1,000 complaints of crop damage due to dicamba, voted in January to bar use of the herbicide on cotton and soybeans during the 2018 growing season. Now Monsanto, dicamba’s maker, has “sued the board and each individual member,” reports NPR.
Global economic growth will spark large U.S. cotton crop
This year's U.S. cotton crop could be the second-largest since 2006, according to the National Cotton Council's respected survey of growers. Cotton Council economist Jody Campiche says growers intend to expand cotton plantings by nearly 4 percent, lured by strong cotton prices compared to likely returns from competing crops such as corn and soybeans.
Budget deal bolsters cotton and dairy but squeezes USDA elsewhere
Cotton and dairy producers complained about inadequate USDA support viturally since the 2014 farm bill took effect. Congress answered those complaints in the budget package passed at the end of last week, making an additional $1.2 billion available for the commodities in coming years. But the package also is likely to result in cuts of nearly the same amount, says the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
Cotton and dairy ride on Senate budget package
The budget agreement written by Senate leaders includes more than $1 billion for dairy supports as well as larger subsidies for cotton growers. Besides providing immediate assistance to producers, the provisions would mean that farm-state lawmakers can spend more money on cotton and dairy in the 2018 farm bill than is available now.
Farm bill waits as leaders look for more money
The chairman of the House Agriculture Committee appealed for additional funding from Congress for cotton and dairy subsidies in the near term, a step that also would make more money available for those programs in the 2018 farm bill.
New cotton subsidies in 2018 farm bill could be costly, says think tank
Cotton growers are pushing for the second overhaul of USDA subsidies in four years and the results could be expensive to taxpayers and risk another trade complaint at the WTO, says the free-market American Enterprise Institute. Congress totally re-wrote the cotton program in the 2014 farm bill to resolve a WTO ruling, sought by Brazil, that over-generous U.S. subsidies distorted world trade.
Policy expert: 50 percent chance Congress extends 2014 farm law
Congress could just as easily extend the 2014 farm law, with add-ons to fix cotton and dairy subsidies, as pass a new farm bill this year, said Texas A&M economist James Richardson, a farm policy expert.
Arkansas council set for Friday vote on dicamba ban
A legislative subcommittee supported the Arkansas State Plant Board’s plan to ban use of the weedkiller dicamba from April 16 to Oct. 31 this year. The bicameral Legislative Council is scheduled to take a final vote on the proposal on Friday, said the Associated Press.
Monsanto expects its dicamba-tolerant seeds on 40 percent of U.S. soy acres this year
The world’s largest seed and ag-chemical company said it expects U.S. farmers will plant 40 million acres of its dicamba-tolerant GMO soybeans this year, double the 2017 total and equal to four of every 10 acres of projected soybean sowings.
Arkansas board sticks to April 16 cutoff of dicamba on cotton and soybeans
The Arkansas State Plant Board voted for the second time on dicamba regulations and had the same answer: a ban from April 16 to Oct. 31 on use of the weedkiller on cotton and soybeans, said the Associated Press.
Hurricane slashes Georgia cotton crop by 20 percent
High winds and heavy rains from Hurricane Helene destroyed one-fifth of the cotton crop in Georgia, the second-largest cotton state in the nation, said the USDA's monthly Crop Production report. The USDA estimated that growers would harvest 1.65 million bales of cotton weighing 480 pounds each, down by 400,000 bales from a pre-hurricane estimate.