Kade McMahon glides atop a field of bleached cumulus tufts. With a joystick, he steers a set of massive yellow teeth that gobble the white like a snowplow. Summer has again overstayed its welcome in northeast Louisiana, but McMahon is sealed from the hot and dusty air, sitting comfortably inside an air-conditioned cotton picker.
Read MoreWillis Nelson, a third-generation farmer in eastern Louisiana, was hoping to avoid the worst.
The 38-year-old farms 4,000 acres in Sondheimer with his brothers and father. They grow row crops such as corn, cotton, and soybean, which are the leading U.S. agricultural exports that are sold to a global market.
Read MoreThe market marches on. We will not know if the absence of government reports had a direct impact on the market until reports begin anew. Likely, the impact will be minor and meaningless. Yet, who knows?
Read MoreIn Louisiana, the 2025 cotton crop is the smallest crop on record, but on the flip side, the yields have been strong. LSU AgCenter correspondent Craig Gautreaux has this report from northeast Louisiana.
Read MoreThe Cotton Board and Cotton Incorporated 2024 Annual Reports are now available online. The annual reports for both companies include letters from the respective chairman, departmental highlights, detailed financial information, and board rosters.
Read MoreSpecialists with the Mississippi State University Extension Service are monitoring the spread of a newly detected invasive pest in the state that could threaten future cotton yields.
The two-spotted leafhopper, also known as the cotton jassid, was first found in a Hinds County cotton field Sept. 8. It has since been confirmed in Noxubee, Neshoba, Oktibbeha and Forrest counties.
Read MoreFollowing USDA guidelines regarding the current government shutdown, the National Cotton Council (NCC) has analyzed and listed the status of programs and operations most relevant to the U.S. cotton industry.
Overall, the NCC anticipates that most USDA activities will be shut down or scaled back, and nearly half of USDA’s employees will be furloughed. However, most activities supported through mandatory appropriations or user fees will remain in operation.
Read MoreEarly indications are that foreign cotton producers will reduce the area devoted to cotton production in 2026. However, the mass of planted area reductions would come from major foreign producing countries, as U.S. plantings should see a minimal increase due to an abnormally low carryover in the U.S.
Read MoreThe good news — the cotton market continues to hold the 66-cent level, although it is struggling. On a trading basis, December futures slips below its life of contract low close, 66.04 cents, on a routine basis. Yet, to date, it has bounced back to just above that low closing level.
Read MoreAccording to USDA, as of last Sunday, 96 percent of the Louisiana soybean crop was coloring, 93 percent dropping leaves, 88 percent mature and 78 percent has now been harvested. The bean crop is reported at two percent excellent, 20 percent fair and 78 percent good.
Read MoreChemical harvest aids are applied to almost every cotton acre in the Midsouth. These products allow the perennial crop to be manipulated into a timely, single-pass harvest. Leaf material remaining on the plant at harvest is the primary source of staining and trash. When properly applied, the removal of leaves and opening of bolls generated by harvest aids results in a substantial increase in yield, improvement of fiber quality, reduction of boll rot, and increase in picker efficiency. Harvest aids used in cotton production are broadly organized as either defoliants, boll openers, or desiccants.
Read MoreThe cotton jassid, or two-spot cotton leafhopper, Amrasca biguttula Ishida, is wreaking havoc in Southeastern U.S. cotton fields. While probable detection has been identified on a Wharton County, Texas, farm, the insect, which has multiple hosts, has been spotted in several big-box nurseries throughout much of the state where hibiscus is sold.
Read MoreA new national survey conducted for the National Cotton Council (NCC) reveals consumers are largely in the dark about microplastic pollution, particularly concerning its origins in everyday clothing. Despite widespread concern, many feel lost on how to effectively address the issue, highlighting an urgent need for clear guidance and accessible solutions.
Read MoreCorn production is up, while soybean and cotton production is down from 2024, according to the Crop Production report issued by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Corn production is up 13% from last year, forecast at 16.8 billion bushels; soybean growers are expected to decrease their production 2% from 2024, forecast at 4.30 billion bushels; cotton production is down 8% from 2024 at 13.2 million 480-pound bales.
Read MoreThis month’s 2025/26 U.S. corn outlook indicates greater supplies, larger exports, and a slight reduction in ending stocks. Projected beginning stocks for 2025/26 are 20 million bushels higher based on a lower use forecast for 2024/25, with reductions in imports and corn used for ethanol partially offset by an increase in exports. Corn production for 2025/26 is forecast at 16.8 billion bushels, up 72 million from last month as a 2.1-bushel reduction in yield to 186.7 bushels per acre is more than offset by a 1.3 million acre increase in harvested area to 90.0 million acres.
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