On March 3, at the Mid-South Farm and Gin Show in Memphis, Tennessee, Secretary of Agriculture 
Sonny Perdue announced a Cotton Ginning Cost Share (CGCS) program for the 2016 crop. This program provides assistance to American cotton producers who were left out of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) safety net programs during that crop year. The Georgia Cotton Commission welcomes this program.
Colquitt County farmer Bart Davis, who also serves as the chairman of the Georgia Cotton Commission, said, “We are greatly appreciative to Secretary Perdue for making this program available to cotton producers. At a time of tight margins and depressed commodity markets, this announcement could not have come at a more opportune time. This 
program will make it easier for cotton producers to secure financing for the 2018 crop.” Davis also noted the economic impact of the program. “This announcement will have ripple effects in Georgia’s economy and have a significant impact in rural communities across our state.”
Here’s Georgia Cotton Commission’s Richey Seaton:
GCC Welcomes Cotton Ginning Cost Share
CGCS program payments were based on 20 percent of the average producer’s ginning costs per acre. Growers in Georgia and the southeastern region are eligible for $23.21 per acre based on cotton acres reported to USDA for 2016. Growers are encouraged to go their local USDA-Farm Service Agency office to enroll in the program between March 12 and May 11.
The Georgia Cotton Commission is a producer-funded organization located in Perry, Georgia. The commission began in 1965. Georgia cotton producers pay an assessment enabling the commission to invest in programs of research, promotion and education on behalf of all cotton producers of Georgia. For more information about the Georgia Cotton Commission, call 478-988-4235 or visit www.georgiacottoncommission.org.
by Taylor Sills, Georgia Cotton Commission