South Texas Growers Welcome Strong Cotton Harvest

Producers remain mindful of weather as Texas cotton harvest continues.

MERCEDES, Texas (RFD News) — Cotton harvest is underway in South Texas, where producers are seeing a strong crop after previous seasons brought weather challenges.

RFD-TV Correspondent Frank McCaffrey spoke with Mercedes cattleman Mike England about this year’s harvest and what it could mean for consumers.

“We’re just rejoiceful that it has been good and that we’ve had work picking outside of our own crop and we move on. We head north. It’s a long season for us.”

England says getting the crop harvested remains the first priority, while the cotton market has improved throughout the season.

“First off, we’ve got to worry about getting our crop in and without a crop, it doesn’t matter what the price is. Concerning the cotton market though right now is that it has gotten better throughout the season, which is a plus.”

Weather remains a concern during cotton harvest. Hurricane Hanna decimated cotton crops in the Rio Grande Valley in July 2020 just before they were harvested.

England says experiences like that have taught him to focus on what producers can control and keep moving forward.

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RFD NEWS Correspondent Frank McCaffrey covers news from Texas, in the US-Mexico border region. He has provided in-depth coverage of immigration, the 2021 Texas freeze, the arrival of the New World screwworm, and Mexico’s water debt owed under a 1944 treaty.

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