Connection Fall 2016 | Page 11

RECAPS COTTON weather woes Cotton yields, quality adversely affected by rains A By Sally Andel from 60.2 million bales to 58.2 million bales. s I am writing this article, the monthly USDA Supply and Demand report was released. Cotton received bullish numbers both domestically and globally. The market jumped up nearly two cents. Up to this point, cotton has seen several days of down markets. Except for the Australian report, these are mostly bullish numbers. The Chinese revision indicates better Chinese demand and thus a worldly demand for cotton. Even with this report, most speculate that cotton futures will trade only in the 70 to 72 cent future range. In the report, the U.S. crop was reduced from 16.2 million bales to 16.0 million bales. This is mainly because of the Texas crop. The world ending stocks were reduced from 89.8 million bales to 87.35 million bales. This is largely due to China. The U.S. exports were increased from 11.5 million to 12.0 million. U.S. ending stocks were reduced from 4.9 million to 4.3 million. The Australian crop increased from 3.5 million to 4.0 million and the Chinese beginning stocks were reduced We are ginning our producers’ cotton at our Danevang location. This year, we had terrible picking weather. Fortunately, for the most part our ginning weather has been good. Our dispatch has done a great job. We still have some cotton in the fields but for the most part things are slowing down. Keep in mind that your cotton reports can be viewed on the pcca.com website. If you need help setting up an account, please stop by the main office in El Campo or the dispatch office in Danevang. We can also print them for you at the main office or email or fax them to you or your insurance agent. Once you have set up an account, you can check the option to have your grades sent to you in a text as soon as your bales are classed. If you have any questions, please let us know and we will gladly help you. This is a very difficult year for all of our producers. It started out as a decent year with potentially high yields and good grades. However, very little cotton was picked before the rains set in. Unfortunately, yields and quality has suffered as a result of the wet weather. We are trying to do the best we can to gin your cotton as efficiently as possible. In the life of a farmer, “It’s all about the weather.” And, simply put, the weather hasn’t been good this harvest. 11