Texas' Extra Long Staple (ELS) Cotton Acreage Response

Extra long staple (ELS) cotton production in the United States is typically limited to four southwest or western states; California (87%), Arizona (4%), New Mexico (2%) and Texas (7%). In 2012, ELS acres dropped sharply due to a combination of lower ELS prices and drought. The drought in California persisted for several more years and California lost 145,600 acres of ELS cotton between 2012 and 2015. Some of this acreage was shifted to the other historic ELS producing states. This study quantifies the shift in some ELS acres from California to Texas and examines the opportunities and challenges for further increases on ELS Cotton in Texas. Factors encouraging the increase in Texas ELS acres are identified; irrigation water availability, declining upland cotton prices, On-Board Module Building (OBMB) harvester technology, RoundUp-Flex seed technology, Phymatotrichopsis Omnivora (Cotton Root Rot) control, and Pink Boll Worm Eradication. Similarly, factors limiting ELS cotton production in Texas are identified; proximity to roller gins, lack of transgenic insect resistant ELS cotton seed, dominance of California in terms of infrastructure and established market channels, lack of locally adapted ELS cotton varieties, and the susceptibility of ELS cotton to cotton root rot.

Traditionally, only four counties in far west Texas have any history of ELS production. The increase in Texas ELS acres has also shifted that production further east within the state of Texas.