USDA announced it would begin making payments of $5.98 per average weight bale under the 2000 crop Cottonseed Assistance Program.

The department said payments will be made at the rate of $15.34 per ton on an estimated 6.5 million tons of cottonseed produced in the 2000 crop. Applications for the payments were mailed to 970 cotton ginners in late April.

In their applications, Ginners agreed to share the payment with cotton producers to the extent that low cottonseed prices were born by producers rather than ginners. The payments are authorized under the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000.