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By Jay Stone, Georgia Farm Bureau

Making a good cotton crop is one thing. Doing it in a way that benefits the environment is next level. Officials with state and national cotton organizations say this is what Georgia’s cotton growers are doing.

Telling the story of cotton’s sustainability was a major theme of the Georgia Cotton Commission (GCC) Annual Meeting held Jan. 25. General session speakers praised growers for their work and shared opportunities available for farmers who continue to pursue environmental benefits.                                                                    

“We’re trying to tell our industry’s story,” said GCC Executive Director Taylor Sills, who pointed out a variety of initiatives the organization is using toward that goal.                        

One key storytelling vehicle is the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol (USCTP), which combines growers’ investments in sustainable practices with a marketing campaign highlighting those practices to consumers interested in buying sustainable products.

Among U.S. consumers, 58% say sustainability influences their purchases of clothing, according to Consumer Confidence Index data and a 2021 Cotton Inc. survey. This is up 12% from 2017 when 46% of U.S. consumers wanted clothes produced by sustainable methods.         

USCTP continues to seek new growers to enroll and could offer participating farms significant financial compensation through the U.S. Climate Smart Cotton Program. The USDA awarded USCTP a grant in September to provide technical and financial assistance to more than 1,000 cotton farmers to adopt climate smart practices on more than 1 million acres. The program is expected to result in more than 4 million bales of Climate Smart Cotton over five years. 

Growers have until March 31 to enroll in the USCTP program. Visit TrustUSCotton.org to learn more.

Cotton Inc. research supports sustainability

Cotton Inc. Vice President for Agricultural and Environmental Research Dr. Ryan Kurtz provided updates on the research organization’s work, noting that cotton growers are checking many key sustainability boxes. Kurtz pointed out that over the past 40 years, the cotton sector has reduced land use by 30%, cut soil loss by 45%, reduced water consumption by 58%, trimmed energy use by 31% and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 25%.                                                    

Kurtz also addressed the need for economic sustainability.                                      

“We’ve made significant improvements in all these areas. It’s through your efforts and the efforts of the research and Extension community that made this happen,” Kurtz said. “We’re trying to build on this, continue to make progress in these areas, make changes. We’ve set a series of 10-year goals to make continual improvement on the strides that you’ve already made. We’re not doing sustainability (just) for sustainability’s sake. We’re doing it to make you more profitable and your cotton more marketable.”             

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