Cotton on the Texas A&M AgriLife Farm in Snook, Texas on Sept. 9, 2021. (Sam Craft/Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications)
The 2026 crop and livestock budgets are available on the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Economics website. In today’s post, we break down the District 1 and District 2 cotton budgets and discuss what they imply about cotton costs and returns this year. [Read more…] about Cotton Costs and Returns in 2026
Economists with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service have been updating the Texas crop and livestock budgets for 2026. In this post, we’ll discuss our expectations for four key costs: fertilizer, chemicals, fuel/energy, and interest rates. [Read more…] about Input Cost Outlook for 2026
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) into law. The law included changes to the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs. In a previous post, we covered what changed for the PLC program. This post explains what has changed for the ARC program and how payments under these programs might be affected. [Read more…] about Changes to the ARC-CO Program in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) into law. The law included changes to the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs. In this post, we explain what has changed for PLC and how payments under this program might be affected. [Read more…] about Changes to the PLC Program in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
Cotton harvest on Oct. 20, 2021. (Laura McKenzie/Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications)
As harvest time approaches, the outlook for the 2025/26 cotton crop is starting to become clearer. In this post, we examine what the latest reports from the USDA reveal about cotton production this year. [Read more…] about Fall 2025 Cotton Production and Market Outlook
At the beginning of August, economists with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service initiated the 2025 Texas Custom Rate Survey. Today, we explain what this survey is, its benefits to producers, and request your help in completing the survey. [Read more…] about Announcing the 2025 Texas Custom Rate Survey
Cotton field on Sept. 2, 2021. (Laura McKenzie/Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications)
On Monday, June 30, the USDA released its June Acreage Report. In today’s post, we examine the report’s implications for crop production nationwide and in Texas. [Read more…] about Analyzing the June Acreage Report
Cotton picker on Tuesday, Sep 17, 2024, in El Campo, Texas. (Michael Miller/Texas A&M AgriLife)
The USDA released its May World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates on Monday. The May report is significant because it provides our first look at the USDA’s expectations for the upcoming marketing year. Today, we discuss what the report indicates about the 2025/26 season.
[Read more…] about The May WASDE: Expectations for the 2025/26 Marketing Year
Inflation continues to concern consumers, farmers, and policymakers. In this post, we discuss how inflation has impacted prices paid by farms for production inputs. [Read more…] about Macroeconomic Trends in Agriculture: Inflation
Projected crop insurance prices for counties in AgriLife Extension Districts 1 and 2 were set in February. Today, we consider what these prices imply about the financial risk that producers face in 2025. [Read more…] about Projected Crop Insurance Prices and Revenue Guarantees in 2025