USDA moves to stem ongoing US cotton farming losses

Named the Great American Cotton Plan, it was announced by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins connected 28 May 2026 arsenic a “comprehensive USDA initiative” successful effect to mounting economical pressures that see rising accumulation costs, shrinking nett margins, and expanding contention from synthetic textile materials.

According to USDA forecasts, US fabric producers could suffer an estimated $2.6bn crossed 9 cardinal planted acres successful the upcoming harvest year.

The sector’s challenges are underscored by the diminution successful processing capacity, with the fig of US fabric gins falling from 2,254 successful 1980 to 446 today. Domestic textile manufacturing facilities person besides “sharply contracted” successful caller decades, compounding concerns astir the industry’s semipermanent stability.

The national authorities attributes a large stock of the sector’s difficulties to the accelerated enlargement of synthetic fibre use. Approximately 70% of planetary textile fibres are present synthetic and are chiefly produced from petroleum-based materials similar polyester and nylon.

Secretary Rollins said: “Since 1607, fabric has helped physique and prolong agrarian America. Our farmers turn immoderate of the highest-quality fabric successful the world, but implicit the past respective years, America’s fabric growers person been crushed by rising costs, unfair overseas competition, and a flood of inexpensive synthetic products. In 2023, we mislaid our presumption arsenic the world's apical fabric exporter to Brazil. This alteration starts today.”

The Great American Cotton Plan outlines 4 main actions

First, it targets home consumption. USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services are promoting the “Plant Not Plastic” initiative.

The USDA besides plans to support the BioPreferred Programme funded truthful eligible biobased goods, including fabric products, tin proceed to usage the BioPreferred label. It is besides implementing higher selling indebtedness rates for upland and extra-long staple fabric authorised nether the Working Families Tax Cuts Act.

Second, it aims to enactment home request and output. The USDA volition prioritise fabric processors and manufacturers successful Rural Development’s Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program to grow accumulation capacity. It volition besides rise the outgo complaint successful the Economic Adjustment Assistance for Textile Mills programme from $0.03 to $0.05 per lb of fabric processed. The section said it volition proceed moving with Congress connected the bipartisan Buying American Cotton Act.

Third, the program focuses connected trade. The USDA is implementing the Administration’s Three-Point Trade Plan to summation export opportunities for US cotton.