By Clint Thompson
Farm bill educational meetings highlight the National Cotton Council’s work this week across the Southeast.
The Georgia meetings, which are being conducted by the Georgia Cotton Commission, National Cotton Council, Southern Cotton Growers and the Southeastern Cotton Ginners Association, are designed to inform cotton producers, industry firms and agribusinesses with critical information regarding the farm bill provisions included in the One Big Beautiful Act.
CEO Speaks
Gary Adams, President and CEO of National Cotton Council, spoke at a meeting on Tuesday at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center in Tifton, Georgia.
“This week and next week, we’ve got our staff going across the Cotton Belt and we’re going to hold about 50 meetings,” Adams said. “It really gives us a chance to explain the new provisions of the farm bill to the producers. What will be in effect for this year and what’s going to happen for next year; and some of the decisions they will need to be making once the new provisions are in place?”
Meetings were held across Georgia and offered attendees opportunities to engage in discussions with experts about the farm bill’s impact on their farming operations.
“It is different this time around. When the One Big Beautiful Act was put together through the Budget Reconciliation Process, that was a chance to really address some of the issues in the farm bill, particularly related to the safety net. It gave us a chance to enhance the safety net, increase reference prices, improve the support to growers and also address crop insurance,” Adams said.
“Only some of the issues that had a direct bearing on the budget were able to be included in the reconciliation bill. There are still some titles that need to be done, and that’s what Congress will be working on later this year to address farm bill 2.0, which are the other titles that need to be taken care of.”
Priorities Met
Adams stressed that every cotton industry priority was addressed in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. There was an increase in reference prices. Payment limits were increased and indexed to inflation.
Beginning with the 2025 crop, the Seed Cotton Reference Price will increase by 14% from $0.367 to $0.42. Beginning with the 2031 crop, the reference price for all covered commodities shall equal the previous year’s reference price multiplied by 1.005% and cannot exceed 113% of the statutory reference price.