Introducing
A partnership of cotton universities,
ginners, warehouses and oil mills,
equipment, seed and chemical
suppliers, and other supporters of
the cotton industry dedicated to
supporting increased cotton acreage
in North Texas, Oklahoma and
Kansas.
Cotton Acreage is Increasing
• Why are more producers in North Texas, Oklahoma
and Kansas switching to cotton?
Cotton Market Prices
Cotton offers more profit potential than wheat,
sorghum or corn.
Cotton Production Costs are Down
Growers can produce
dryland cotton for an average of
$113 per acre and
irrigated cotton for
just $188 per acre.
--Averages of University and industry estimated costs
Cotton is Easier and
Less Expensive to Grow
• Roundup Ready® cotton reduces weed control
costs, permits conservation tillage and improves
control of grassy weeds in wheat.
• Bt cotton has reduced or even eliminated
insecticide applications for worms.
• Virtual boll weevil eradication means reduced
costs, a bigger top crop and increased profits.
Cotton Produces more Yield from
Irrigation Water
• Cotton offers the best profit return
on limited water resources.
• Cotton delivers $35 to $40 per inch
of water, compared to a return of
$30 to $32 for corn, $16 to $18 for
sorghum and $10 to $12 for wheat.
(Texas Tech University)
Cotton Produces Bigger Yields in
Dryland Areas
• Cotton can produce bigger yields and profits than wheat,
sorghum and other crops under dryland conditions.
Cotton Strengthens
Crop Rotation Programs
• Improved disease and weed control.
• Bigger yields of wheat, sorghum and peanuts.
• Irrigated sorghum demonstrated an 18 percent yield
increase following cotton, compared to continuous
sorghum, while cotton lint yields increased by 28
percent, 20 percent and 9 percent following sorghum.
(Texas A&M University)
• Peanut yields increase 300 to 600 pounds per acre
when rotated after cotton
Cotton Returns
Bigger Profits per Acre
At current market prices:
• an average 1,000 lbs/acre irrigated cotton yield can
return a net profit of $352 per acre
• an average dryland cotton yield of 500 lbs/acre can
return a profit of $147 per acre.
–
Using averages of university and industry estimated costs
Cotton.
Bigger Yields. Bigger Profits
for producers in North Texas,
Oklahoma and Kansas.
Look what cotton producers
in your area have to say!
“We started no-till farming in the last year or two and we were looking
for something to rotate with. Cotton just works good behind wheat
and it is a good rotation crop for us. They did not trap any boll
weevils in this area. We had some thrips problems and we sprayed
for fleahoppers, but that is
normal. This is the first year I
have grown any cotton. I planted
300 acres and overall
averaged about a
bale and a quarter.”
Bryan Anvil
Apache, Oklahoma
“I have been wanting to grow cotton for several years, and now that
we have gotton rid of the boll weevil, I felt that this was the right
time to get back into cotton. We planted a little over 400 acres this
year and our yields were much better than expected. They ranged
from 700 to 1000 lbs. of lint. We try to keep
100 percent residue cover on our
ground. It made all the difference in
the world when we had adequate
residue to plant the cotton into.”
Allen Mindemann
Apache, Oklahoma
“We used to raise cotton back in the 70’s, but we gave up on it because
of some of the problems such as weeds and insects. When the boll
weevil program came in, that is when we really started getting back
into cotton. Boll weevil eradication with Roundup Ready and
Bollgard cotton makes cotton farming
relatively easy now. This year we had
some 2 bale dryland cotton. We have
had 3 bale irrigated yields in the past.”
John Schieber
Union City, Oklahoma
“Cotton farming is not an exact science. But it is a crop
that has let me buy a farm and pay my bills in years
when there wasn’t any money in wheat. We rotate
dryland cotton with wheat. I’ve found that Roundup
Ready cotton has helped me control the weeds in my
wheat, we don’t have to spend
any money on fertilizer,
and both crops seem to benefit
from better disease control.”
Ted Thomason
Hammon, Oklahoma
“I quit cotton for 5 or 6 years, but I had to have something
to rotate alfalfa with. Wheat wasn’t paying so I went
back to cotton. The cotton may be paying better than the
alfalfa now, but it is still a good rotation. I had a 149 acre
field this year that averaged 864 lbs.
per acre dryland, which to me paid
better than my alfalfa this year. It is a
good cash crop for me and it comes in
at the time of year I can use it best.”
Bill Overton
Minco, Oklahoma
“There’s better profit in cotton than corn or sorghum.
Depending on the year, we’ve found we can average
between 400 and 900 pounds on dryland cotton, and
from 800 to 1,100 pounds per acre
with limited
irrigation.
Cotton is a good crop
for Kansas.”
Chuck Buss
Oxford, Kansas
“Cotton has been useful to us as a rotation with wheat to
help control wild oats and other problems. I try to
have about a third of my ground in cotton, 10 to 15
percent in layout, and about 50
percent in wheat. I like cotton,
it gives us another crop in the
season between wheat and cattle.
We feel it has made us money
in most years, except
when we had a drought .”
Arthur Tatum
Grandfield, Oklahoma
“Cotton has always been good to me. This year I planted 400 acres and
harvested right at 600 bales of cotton
I have not put a cultivator in thefield
since I started planting Roundup
Ready Cotton. I went to 30 inch
rows last year to get a canopy
established earlier and it worked well.
Farming cotton is nothing like it was
20 years ago. My crop usually
runs 400 to 600 acres and I am
able to do it all myself.”
Ted Thomason
Hammond, Oklahoma
“We have grown cotton for the last four years and it has become a
valuable part of our no-till rotation program. We were searching for
a broadleaf crop that was more tolerant to heat and drought than
Soybeans and we feel cotton will fill
That niche. Cotton has been
Profitable for us, we can average
500 to 600 pounds per acre yields
And yields have gone as high as
800 to 900 pounds.”
Vic McClung
Winfield, Kansas
“I started growing cotton in 1996, without Roundup Ready varieties.
We had a weed problem, but we still harvested about 600 pounds
of cotton per acre. Now our yield averages about 500 pounds in a
program that includes milo,
soybeans, corn, and wheat. We
usually plant Roundup Ready
cotton following milo. On a five
year average, cotton will beat
anything you can grow.”
Mike E. Thompson
Winfield, Kansas
“Yields in 2004 have been exceptionally good. We have been making
700 to 900 pounds per acre on dryland. With our inputs we are
making $250 to $300 per acre over expenses. We use Roundup
Ready on all our acres and
we add Bollgard on our
irrigated acres. Profitability on
cotton has been better than other
crops. Cotton has been a great
asset to our financial stability
in this area.”
Monte Kahle
Blackwell, Oklahoma
“We started no-till about three years ago, primarily to cut down on
our equipment costs. Our results have been just as good as with
conventional tillage. We have been mostly on a cotton-milo
rotation and we have seen some
yield advantage following milo
with cotton. We will be following
wheat with cotton next year. This
year we have had dryland yields
up near 900 pounds but we have
averaged about 700 to 800 pounds.
Kansas will have more cotton
acres next year. ”
Ken Rich
Arkansas City, Kansas
“My family has been raising cotton in this area since the early 40’s.
Our gin has ginned as much as 54,000 bales in the past but weather
has held us back for the last several years. In 2004, we had the best
crop we’ve had in the last 10-15 years. Last year our gin ginned
4,500 bales, this year we
will gin about 15,000. This is
cotton country here. We’ve
gotton rid of the boll weevil,
and now have the technology
where we can raise cotton.
We just need the weather .”
Tim Sher
Vernon, Texas
“Cotton works well following corn in a sorghum-corn-cotton
rotation. We grew 1500 acres of cotton, some dryland,
but most irrigated last year. We had excellent yields, up
to 2,000 lbs. lint per acre in some areas. The boll weevil
eradication program is what
convinced me to get into cotton
production .”
Stephen Clay
Carnegie, Oklahoma
“Irrigated cotton makes better use of water than corn,
and no-till cotton works well in rotation with wheat
and grain sorghum. When you compare
dryland cotton with wheat, grain
sorghum or soybeans
in this area of Kansas,
cotton always comes out on top.”
Robert Miller
Wellington, Kansas
Contact Us for More Information
580-482-3227
NTOK Cotton is a partnership of university
extension services, ginners, warehouses and oil
mills, equipment, seed and chemical suppliers,
and other supporters of the cotton industry
dedicated to supporting increased cotton
acreage in North Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.