Alabama Cotton Acres Down and Southern Border Issues Continue
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.
**Low market prices forced Alabama cotton farmers to plant fewer acres in 2020, resulting in a 294,000-bale decrease, according to the USDA.
www.alfafarmers.org reports, even with the 29% decrease in planted and harvested acres, cotton still produces the most acreage of any Alabama row crop.
Alabama contributes 14% of total U.S. cotton production.
Total U.S. cotton acres dropped from 13.7 million in 2019 to 12.1 million in 2020.
www.alfafarmers.org/low-prices-lead-to-cotton-acreage-drop-in-2020/
**The situation at the southern border continues to be an issue for farmers and ranchers, and agricultural groups are now calling on President Biden to do more.
According to www.agweb.com, dangerous border crossings continue to be an issue for those with land adjacent to the border.
Recently, U.S. Border Patrol agents took more than 160 undocumented immigrants into custody within 24 hours in two human smuggling attempts in Laredo, Texas, including 50 inside a tanker trailer.
www.agweb.com/news/policy/politics/farm-bureau-urges-biden-address-border-crisis-says-farm-families-lives-risk?mkt
**Leading ag groups have called on a bipartisan working group and Congressional leadership to come together on an infrastructure package they call vital to American farmers and continued domestic and international market access.
Thursday’s letter comes as negotiations accelerate and Congressional leaders weigh the path forward for infrastructure investments.
The letter, organized by Farmers for Free Trade, includes support from every step of the U.S. supply chain: from farm groups, to truckers, to waterways, to ports and more.
