US Announces US$300mn in Payments for Cotton Producers

US cotton producers will receive one-off payments totalling US$300 million, the US Department of Agriculture announced last week.

The payments will be made under the Cotton Ginning Cost Share Program. Cotton “ginning” is the process by which cotton fiber is separated from the seed.

Farmers will receive a one-time payment based on their 2015 cotton acreage, multiplied by 40 percent of the average ginning cost for each production region. The payments will be made to producers who meet certain requirements, including an adjusted gross income limit of US$900,000 and a requirement to be actively farming. The payments will be capped at US$40,000 per producer.