NewsDrop-October-2024

COTTON FARMING

By: Isabel Martinez EAA Senior Permit & Conservation Coordinator

AGRICULTURE OUT WEST

Every wonder how cotton is grown? Take a trip with us out to Hondo, Texas to meet with Anthony, a fifth generation farmer, to learn how this staple crop is grown and harvested. Watch the video here.

Cotton has long been the fabric of civili zation and has been a valuable crop for many millennia. It was critical in the devel opment of cloth and textiles in all parts of the world. Fabric made from cotton that dated to 3000 BC was found in Mexico. Across the world, cotton fragments were discovered in Asia that dated back to around 5000 BC. Its durability as a crop helped it become popular all over the world due to its hardiness and its ability to thrive in multiple climates and these same traits make it popular for producers to plant in the EAA region. Producers in Medina and Uvalde coun ties plant hundreds of acres of cotton, which helps the State of Texas be the largest producer

Cottonseed oil is used to make cooking oils, salad dressings, and shortening. The meal and hull from the seeds are used to make several things. They can be used to make fertilizer or to make feed for poultry, livestock or fish. There is short fuzz on the outside of the cottonseed that is called linters. Linters are used to make plastics, paper products and batting for mattresses and cushions. The stalks and leaves of the cotton plant are useful for their organic properties. Cotton stalks and leaves are often plowed under the soil to decompose and leave nutrients in the soil. Cotton that is raised in our region is produced for the lint and the seeds. The lint is processed at a gin and shipped throughout

the U.S. and other parts of the world while the seeds are processed for oil or livestock feed.

of cotton in the U.S. with an estimated 5 million acres of cotton planted annually. As a crop, cot ton does not require a lot of water to grow, has a natural resistance to disease and pests therefore requiring less pesticide. The entire cotton plant is useful. The most popular and well-known part of the cotton plant is the white fiber, or lint, that appears at the end of the growth cycle. The lint is what is used to make cotton cloth. Within the lint, seeds can be found. Cottonseed can be crushed and sepa rated into different products such as oil, meal, and hulls.

Cotton’s popularity is guaranteed to last well into the future. It plays a vital role in the economies of the communities where cotton is grown as well as providing the raw materials for manufactured products such as clothing, cooking essentials, and other industrial uses. Cotton’s ability to toler ate South Central Texas’s climate and low water requirements has made it and continues to make it a successful crop in the EAA region.

10

11