Cotton prices are the highest they have been in 150 years and likely will mean more of the crop is planted in Alabama this year.
Hassey Brooks, assistant to the Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture, said the state's farmers could plant 10 to 15 percent more cotton in 2011.
Last year, the state's cotton acreage was up by about 40 percent compared to 2009. Cotton production was estimated for 2010 at 480,000 bales from 337,000 harvested acres.
The cotton market started increasing in mid-August, Brooks said. The price then was about 84 cents per pound.
"By November, it climbed to $1.30, $1.40," Brooks said.
Last week, March futures topped $2 per pound and December 2011 futures were at about $1.35 per pound.
Global demand, namely in China, and bad harvests last year in other parts of the world are among the reasons for the current high demand and high prices, experts say.
But that doesn't necessarily mean Alabamians will see nothing but fields of white this year. Beans and corn are looking profitable too, Brooks said.
"Everything looks very competitive right now," he said.
Andy Wendland of Autauga Farming Co. in Augaugaville said he had planned to plant about 1,100 acres of cotton this year.
"We might go up a little bit, with the market being what it is," he said.
Wendland said many farmers believe that cotton prices are now closer to where they belong.
"It's been underpriced for so long," he said. But, he said, planting and producing more cotton this year may drive the market back down.
"We know it is going to come back down, but if it is going to give us a chance to lock in this price, we certainly want to take advantage of that. Anybody would."
Shep Morris Jr. of Shorter, who farms about 3,500 acres of cotton, corn and soybeans with his father, said growers have never seen cotton prices like this.
"They haven't been this high since the Civil War," he said.
But that doesn't mean the Morrises are skipping the corn and beans this year.
They decided a few months ago to go with their usual rotation: About 1,500 acres of cotton and 1,000 each of beans and corn.
"Rotation is very important for production," Morris said. Rotating crops year to year is good for the soil and can reduce pests that plague a specific crop.
Besides the need to rotate, Morris said their equipment plays a role in how much of what crops they plant.
"We only have so much capacity to go out and plant and harvest," he said.
The Morrises farm with two full-time employees and two or three seasonal workers.
Ron Sparks, the former state Agriculture Commissioner and current director of the state Alabama Rural Development Office, said recently that more cotton could mean more seasonal employment at cotton gins and farms.
Alabama has 32 cotton gins.
But Morris said there are other factors that could stand between cotton farmers and their paydays once the cotton is harvested. Those include the weather and the price of cotton seed, fertilizer and fuel.
"Everyone wants their slice of the pie," he said.
Still, he's optimistic about the year ahead.
"As long as we can get some good rains," he said. "The last decade has been pretty tough. A lot of farmers have been financially stressed and need a good year or two to regain the health of their businesses."
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