How effectively is U.S. cotton fiber meeting manufacturers requirements?
Unfortunately, not well enough. The two most recent crop years have stressed plants in most regions with extreme heat and dryness. Micronaire has been too variable, and staple length and strength have decreased. Manufacturers are not getting the qualities they need and producers face large price discounts. For the 1999 and 2000 crops, the aggregate losses to farmers from short staple, low strength and high micronaire discounts totaled $192 million and $171 million, respectively about twice the average from 1995-97. For the past two crops, these discounts have cost producers an average of more than $11 per bale. What is the NCC doing to address this serious fiber quality deterioration? The NCC has stepped up action to find the causes and identify solutions to these quality problems. By far, most recent quality problems are believed to be weather related. However, producers pursuing higher yields also have selected varieties that are slightly shorter in staple and lower in strength. This
