American farmers will plant less cotton this year, partly due to drought in high-production areas like Texas

U.S. Department of Agriculture map

Ten years ago, U.S. farmers opted to grow more cotton, but this year marks a change. "Battered by drought and rising costs, U.S. cotton growers will devote more of their land to corn, wheat, and soybeans — crops that promise higher revenue this year — while sharply reducing their cotton plantings, said a survey released on Sunday," reports Chuck Abbott of Successful Farming. "The National Cotton Council said its survey of growers indicated 11.4 million acres will be planted to cotton this spring, 17% less than last year."

Multiple factors have prompted the shift. The Cotton Council's economic summary cited "an environment characterized by increased production costs, slumping consumer demand, and supply chain disruptions. . . . Growers across the Cotton Belt said they would shift some of their land out of cotton. Corn, wheat, and soybeans were the most frequently mentioned alternatives. Futures prices for most alternative crops were strong for the past year but cotton futures have fallen more than 16% since last winter."

Texas produces about 40 percent of the nation's cotton, and Texas growers told the Cotton Council they would plant 6.2 million acres of cotton, 21% less than last year. "Much of the Texas Panhandle and South Plains was in a state of 'exceptional' drought in 2022," reports Jillian Taylor of the Texas Tribune. "More than 70% of all acres in the region failed. It’s one of the worst cotton production seasons the area has seen since the 1950s, according to Plains Cotton Growers, a nonprofit organization of cotton producers from a 41-county region in the northernmost part of the state."

Darren Hudson, a professor of agriculture and economics at Texas Tech University, told Taylor that about a third of economic activity in the region is related to agriculture, “but one of these smaller towns, probably, 80% of their economic activity is related to agriculture in some way. So when you see a loss like this, it impacts those communities much more severely than it does a major metro area.”

Taylor writes, "This year’s drought doesn’t spell the end for most cotton farmers. The federal government offers an insurance subsidy that allows farmers like Walker to break even on their expenses. But breaking even doesn’t mean farmers are in the clear. Farmer Steven Walker said, “We can only do that so many years before it really catches up to us and we’re behind on keeping up our equipment.”