YOUR TEXAS AGRICULTURE MINUTE

Delays in cotton grading impacting some Texas farmers

By Gary Joiner
Publisher

The world’s largest cotton patch is on the Texas South Plains.

This year’s South Plains harvest went off without a hitch for most farmers. The crop was very good. Prices, even better. The best in nearly a decade.

The snag has been delays in the classing or grading of the cotton. Each cotton bale produced must be graded by one of 10 cotton classing offices for criteria such as color, strength and cleanliness.

A shortage in equipment and parts, as well as a shortage of workers in the classing offices, are contributing to delays.

Some growers have not been able to take advantage of selling their cotton on the open market when prices are high because of the backlog.

A new state-of-the-art cotton classification complex will open in Lubbock in early 2022. It replaces a current classing office there that processes about 40,000 samples daily.

The new facility will be a big plus for the region’s cotton farmers.

The preceding commentary is brought to you by Texas Farm Bureau, the “Voice of Texas Agriculture.” Called “Your Texas Agriculture Minute,” TFB will issue thought-provoking editorials each week—via print and audio—to spark understanding of agriculture in the Lone Star State and its impact on each and every Texan.

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