By Clint Thompson
The Georgia Cotton Commission’s Mid-Year Meeting and University of Georgia (UGA) Cotton Pre-Harvest Workshop in late July came at an important time for the state’s cotton farmers.
UGA Extension specialists provided updates for the 2026 crop. It also provided a platform for executive director Taylor Sills to address numerous issues impacting Georgia’s industry.
“We’ve got the Great American Cotton Plan that was announced by Secretary Brooke Rollins back in May that highlights a lot of things that have already been done by Congress and the administration. Also in that plan, there’s also incredible support for the industry’s Plant Not Plastic Initiative and support for the Buying America’s Cotton Act,” Sills said. “At the same time unrelated, the state of Georgia has now recognized cotton as the official state fabric. We’ve got some FSA type of issues in process that producers need to be aware of; most noticeably the issuance of 30 million new base acres across the country and some changes on the marketing loan.
“All of this stuff, whether it’s policy wise or in promotions, can’t be done without the National Cotton Council, Cotton Incorporated and the Cotton Board, and we play a role as an organization in those various organizations.
“It’s a very exciting time to be in the cotton industry. Not everything’s perfect, and not everything’s fixed. We’ve got a long way to go.”
The meeting was held on July 29 at the Nessmith-Lane Conference Center in Statesboro, Georgia.