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Cotton growers pleased with farm bill provisions in reconciliation

An economics and policy expert with the National Cotton Council says cotton growers are pleased with farm program updates included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Jody Campiche tells Brownfield a reference price boost was needed, because of the rise in production costs.

“Right now, it’s set at 36.7 cents per pound and in the bill, it’s set to increase by 14 percent to 42 cents per pound. And when we basically calculate the seed cotton payment, it ends up being about $86 per acre higher for the 2025 crop.”

She says any farm program payments with the increased reference prices wouldn’t be distributed to farmers until fall 2026. Campiche says the reconciliation package also tweaks the STAX insurance program for upland cotton growers.

“If a grower has STAX, they can’t also enroll that same farm in the Price Loss Coverage program. They had to choose one or the other. But in this bill, there’s an area-wide product called the Supplemental Coverage Option that’s similar to STAX, but it has a lower insurance subsidy and coverage.”

She says in the bill, SCO functions more like STAX and a cotton grower could have SCO and PLC.

“That’s a big deal, because we’ve had a lot of growers take STAX, but then, you don’t necessarily want to not be able to take PLC in the same year. It’s another thing that will enhance risk protection for cotton growers.”

Campiche says the reconciliation package also increases the marketing loan rate for cotton and give a boost to assistance to the U.S. textile industry.

The U.S. House passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on Thursday, before President Trump’s July 4 deadline.