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Cotton Making Comeback in Western Kentucky
By
Laura Skillman
 FULTON, Ky., (Nov. 29, 2006) – Few people think of Kentucky when
they think about cotton farming. But cotton was grown in the far
western part of the state for many years and, recently, it has
begun making a comeback of sorts. A handful of farmers have
returned to the crop for a second year with nearly 3,000 acres
planted in Fulton County in 2006.
“Cotton was grown here for years and years and years, but it
went out in the 1970s,” said Cam Kenimer, the county’s
agricultural and natural resources agent with the University of
Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service. “At that time many were
still picking it by hand, and what automated pickers were
available were pretty primitive.”
Prices and yields dropped on cotton in the '70s, while corn and
soybean production took off. Farmers throughout the state
abandoned cotton and began growing grains instead.
“We had a bad year that year and we switched to soybeans,” said
Fulton County farmer Joey Parker, whose family quit growing
cotton in 1973. “Cotton was very labor intensive. At the time we
had a one-row picker and also picked by hand. It was a very
labor intensive crop, and we had no chemicals either.
“Cotton genetics have improved, so now it is easier to raise it,
and with the high price of nitrogen for corn and the price of
soybeans, it’s just another alternative crop,” added Parker, who
remembers taking naps on his mother’s cotton bag while she
picked.
Nitrogen fertilizer prices have increased about 280 percent in
the four years Kenimer said he’s been in Fulton County.
Parker, one of the farmers from Kentucky and Tennessee who grow
cotton in Fulton County, was finishing up his harvest last week
after being delayed by fall rains. At harvest, the cotton is put
into bales weighing about 500 pounds. The bales are placed into
a module and then picked up and transported to a cotton gin in
Tiptonville, Tenn., about 18 miles away.
“We tried some cotton last year and it turned out good so we
added acres and bought equipment,” Parker said. “Prices are not
great but you can make some money. You can easily put $300 to
$350 per acre into it but you can get back $600 to $700 and, if
you have a really good crop, even more.”
 Although cotton has to be more intensively managed for weeds,
worms and boll weevils than other field crops, modern equipment
has made the picking process easier, Kenimer said. Local growers
have signed on with the Tennessee boll weevil eradication
program and have their crops scouted weekly, he said. It only
takes a few of the weevils to devastate a cotton crop.
Kenimer admits he knows little about cotton production, but with
its resurgence into the county he is trying to learn as much as
he can. He also calls on a colleague from the University of
Tennessee Extension service when he needs some expertise.
It’s unclear whether more farmers in Fulton County will add
cotton to their operations, especially in light of the strong
price outlook for corn. But Kenimer said those already in will
likely stay until cotton prices take a tumble.
“It may be something people inch into,” Parker said. “With the
prices of corn and soybeans up, I don’t look for a whole lot of
change right now.
“It’s been a good experience,” he added. “I always said I’d
never go back into the cotton fields again, but sometimes you
have to eat your words.” |
Contact: Cam Kenimer, 270- 236-2351 |
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The UK College
of Agriculture, through its land-grant mission, reaches across
the commonwealth with teaching, research and extension
to enhance the lives of Kentuckians. |
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