Bogue Chitto Cotton Gin GM explains impact of cotton reduction
NOXUBEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – “It is concerning,” said Aaron Litwiller, General Manager at Bogue Chitto Gin. “I think of all of the cotton gins, and cotton chemical plants, and different things that are reliant on the cotton farmers so that they can service them.
That’s how the General Manager at Bogue Chitto Gin, Aaron Litwiller, describes the drop off in cotton production for this year.
The United States Department of Agriculture reported that cotton acreage has declined since 2006, falling from more than one million acres to an estimated 360,000 in 2025.
“I think those numbers will be larger than what they are estimating right now,” said Litwiller.
Litwiller said some of that reduction is due to the weather, but the political and economic climates are also playing against farmers.
“Some of that has to do with tariffs, some of that has to do with the competition that we are facing,” said Litwiller. “Other countries are growing cotton, and they are necessarily held to the same standard that the American Cotton Famer is.”
Here is how it can also affect you: fewer farmers growing the crop can mean less cotton on the market, and that can lead to higher prices on products made from cotton.
“The prices could go higher, and it could have an immediate impact,” said Litwiller.
“When that cotton is not there, the infrastructure has to pull back and start disappearing, and the same opportunities might not be available moving forward,” said Litwiller. “That is concerning to me.”
Litwiller told WCBI that cotton seeds were stacked up to the ceiling, and this video shows how bare it is now.
He said there is also the long-term impact to think about.
“You have all this infrastructure here in America that has been built up to support the American Cotton Farmer,” said Litwiller. “If all that is not utilized, then it goes away.”
Litwiller said that the market can change quickly, so cotton production could get back to normal this year, or the current cotton drought could carry over into next season.
