What is in this article?:
- For Mississippi, figures show advantage for cotton in 2011
- Newfound enthusiasm for cotton
- Seed choice is critical
- Irrigation assistance tool
With the prospect of continuing high prices, "cotton is $50 ahead of soybeans and corn when you put the pencil to it,” says Darrin Dodds, assistant Extension professor of plant and soil sciences at Mississippi State University.
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Dollar-plus cotton has put that crop “back in the game” for a lot of growers, says Darrin Dodds.
“Most growers are motivated by economics — and with the prospect of continuing high prices, cotton is $50 ahead of soybeans and corn when you put the pencil to it,” he said at the Delta Ag Expo at Cleveland, Miss.
Dodds, who is assistant Extension professor of plant and soil sciences at Mississippi State University, says $1.03, the price at which December cotton closed Tuesday, Jan. 18, trumps $13.26 soybeans and $5.78 corn.
That’s based on a 1,200 pound yield for cotton, 60 bushels for soybeans, and 190 bushel corn, and costs of $650 per acre for cotton, $300 for soybeans, and $550 per acre for corn.
Those costs can vary, depending on weed and insect pressures, he says, but the averages show cotton with a $50 advantage over the other two crops.