Cotton increasingly replaced by corn, soybeans

The South has long been associated with King Cotton, but there are growing signs of the crop's decline in the region because of lower use. The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects exports of U.S. cotton to fall by $1.2 million this year.

"As with other commodities, prices and acreage have gone up and down on economic cycles. But cotton farmers and farm economists say they have never seen a downturn quite like this, one that started during the global boom and has quickened in the recession," reports Clifford Krauss of The New York Times. "The Agriculture Department estimates that 8.8 million acres of cotton will be planted in the United States this year, down 7 percent from 2008 and 42 percent from 2006."

Farmers are planting corn and soybeans instead of cotton. Corn and soybean prices have continued to rise due to the need for vegetable oil and feed grains, and "Expanding federal mandates for ethanol prompted farmers to plant more corn to keep up with its growing role as an energy feedstock," writes Krauss. "Also, new corn strains have made the crop more practical in Mississippi’s hot climate." The price of cotton has dropped nearly 23 percent since 2003, while the price of soybeans has gone up more than 38 percent and corn has risen nearly 65 percent. (Read more)