[Biodiesel News] Valley yields second smallest crop in five years

Valley yields second smallest crop in five years

Monitor - McAllen,TX,USA

... Weslaco. Last month, the Valley cotton industry got a boost as Valco announced a project to make biodiesel using cottonseeds. As ...

 

The 2006 cotton crop is officially over and it produced the second smallest crop in the last five years, final figures from the Rio Grande Valley cotton gins show.

 

Industry experts blamed the lackluster crop on the drought, which resulted in very little rain during the growing stages of the cotton plants.

 

Valley growers planted about 252,000 acres for the season, but some 127,000 acres were reported as failed because of bad weather, according to the Texas Cooperative Extension in Weslaco.

 

Last month, the Valley cotton industry got a boost as Valco announced a project to make biodiesel using cottonseeds.

 

As many as 3 million gallons of the fuel could be produced at a Valco plant as early as next year.

 

A gallon of biodiesel costs about the same as conventional diesel, but it’s reputed as friendlier to the environment.

 

How that will impact next season’s cotton planting remains to be seen, but some industry sources said they doubt the biodiesel project would increase acreage in 2007.

 

Earl Adams, of Adams Farms in Combes, said he doesn’t think their cotton acreage is going to change.

 

“We might grow less cotton next year,” he said. “We are not making money growing cotton anymore.”

 

Adams said they planted about 2,500 acres for the 2005 season, but had to plow under hundreds of acres that were not producing any cotton.

 

Larry Wade, president of the Ag Credit of South Texas, also doesn’t think cotton growers will add more acreage next year because of the biodiesel project.

 

He said some growers rotate their crops from one year to the next.

 

“Three million gallons of biodiesel is not that much, anyhow,” he said. “Maybe in the future, but I don’t think growers are going to plant a lot more cotton next season.”

 

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Posted by Vince to Biodiesel News at 9/18/2006 08:07:00 AM