Louisiana Cotton Acreage Increasing as Prices Remain Steady

By A. Denise Attaway, Special to the Farm Bureau News

NEW ORLEANS -- An LSU AgCenter cotton specialist said if prices remain steady, farmers could see cotton acreage increasing in Louisiana.

John Kruse, assistant professor and Extension specialist for the LSU AgCenter in Alexandria, addressed producers gathered for the Cotton Conference of the 89th Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting Saturday. He said the immediate future for cotton in Louisiana looks promising.

“A total of 280,000 acres were planted in (Louisiana) cotton this year,” Kruse said. “This is a 10 percent increase over last year (2010), which was a 10 percent increase over the year before (2009). If prices hold steady, we could see cotton acreage increasing even more in Louisiana.”

Kruse said 15 years ago, more than 800,000 acres of cotton were planted in Louisiana.

“Since then, we’ve been in a very steady and steep decline,” he said. “Production costs exceeded the price growers could get for their crops and many (growers) stopped growing cotton and opted for alternative crops such as corn and soybeans, which are less costly to grow. But cotton prices are starting to rebound and we’re beginning to see acreage increase.”

Other issues discussed during the conference included the Farm Bill and problems with the New York Intercontinental Commodities Exchange (ICE).

“The debt limit debate likely will have a dramatic effect on the Farm Bill debate,” said Craig Brown, vice president of producer affairs with the National Cotton Council in Memphis, Tenn. “We anticipate the 2012 Farm Bill will encounter several challenges, but the National Cotton Council is doing everything it can to get ready to meet these challenges.”

Mike Stevens, a cotton market expert and consultant for DTN commodity network, encouraged producers to remain informed of the cotton market by participating in cotton conference calls held each month two days after the USDA Supply and Demand Report is released. The next call will be held from 7:30am to 8am July 14. For information, go to www.agmarketnetwork.com or www.allagnews.com.