Posted May 31, 2017

 

By Seshadri Ramkumar

 

LUBBOCK, Texas – Cotton is pre-sold on its comfort attributes. In addition, it has certain environmental benefits.

 

With planting in serious mode on the High Plains of Texas, stakeholders of the industry gathered in the early morning recently in the office of Lubbock-based Plains Cotton Growers.

 

The meeting kicked off with discussions about plantings made so far and then shifted to a discussion about certain benefits of the natural fiber.

 

On average, about 20 percent to 30 percent of acreage has been planted in the High Plains. In Lubbock County, 30 percent of acres have been planted. Wind has been strong recently and has deterred some producers from going in high gear. As usual in the region, it is the rain that will determine the amount of production. It is the not the number of acres planted, but ultimately weather and the number of bales produced are what matter and will influence the price and hence the demand.

 

“Rain fixes a lot of things,” said Shelley Heinrich, a cotton producer, who farms about 3,000 acres in South of Lubbock.

 

With higher prices, producers are expected to plant more cotton acres. In the High Plains this year, 60 percent of acreage will be dryland and 40 percent will be irrigated. In recent years we had slipped a little and irrigated acreage had dipped to around 35 percent, said Shawn Wade, director of Policy Analysis at Plains Cotton Growers.

 

While discussing the benefits of cotton, it’s not only the comfort on which cotton is pre-sold, there are also environmental benefits. More and more consumers are aware of the problems caused due to the bioaccumulation of micro synthetics in marine lives and ocean floors. Cotton being biodegradable can be a natural alternative to address this issue.

 

With the help of technology and good environmental stewardship, producers these days use fewer resources such as water and chemicals in production. Even in the case of irrigation, High Plains’ producers practice supplemental irrigation techniques and are quick to adopt to water-savings management strategies.

 

Cotton’s natural benefits and improved manufacturing practices are enabling it to penetrate into high-performance and activewear markets. The cotton sector needs to focus on imparting desirable functional characteristics to the fiber, without sacrificing its comfort to make it more attractive to these markets.

 

Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar, Ph.D, FTA (honorary), is a professor at the Nonwovens & Advanced Materials Laboratory at Texas Tech.