These figures are from the 2023/24 cotton season. To find out more, read our latest annual report.
While American cotton farmers use advanced production methods, they still face sustainability challenges like herbicide resistance, soil erosion and regional irrigation water shortages.
In response to demand from our members, retailers, suppliers and interested farmer groups, we launched a Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) program in the United States in 2014. Since then, we have been working closely with the American cotton industry to grow the country’s BCI supply chain.
Download this brief guide to learn how joining BCI’s US Program can benefit your farm or organisation:
Benefits to Producers: Financial opportunities through certification, cost savings, environmental impact, farm resilience, access to resources, industry recognition.
Benefits to Program Partners: Industry leadership, global network access, producer collaboration, data-driven credibility, market connections, addressing industry challenges.
If you are an interested producer, tell us a bit about your farm so that we can learn more about you and how best to get in touch. Prospective Program Partners can fill the same form and will be directed toward relevant questions.
On-Farm Innovation Projects in the US
BCI is committed to its emphasis on continuous improvement, and the US Program offers unique opportunities for producers to field test innovative, regenerative practices on their farms:
- Soil health innovations
- Integrated pest management innovations
- Collaborative approaches to water stewardship and habitat improvement
- Data management strategies
If you are a licensed Producer and would like to trial any of these practices on your operation, get in touch or sign up here:
Better Cotton Initiative Partners in the US
Our current Program Partners in the United States include:
- Allenberg (Louis Dreyfus)
- Jess Smith and Sons Cotton, Inc
- Olam
- Plains Cotton Cooperative Association (PCCA)
- Quarterway Cotton Growers
- Staple Cotton Cooperative Association
- Bunge USA Agriculture LLC
We also work with local and national NGOs, universities and government agencies.
Which regions grow BCI Cotton in the US?
Cotton in the US is grown throughout the US Cotton Belt, an area that stretches from Virginia to California.
When is BCI Cotton grown in the US?
Throughout most of the US, cotton is planted in April and May and harvested in October and November.
US Impact Report 2014-24
It has been over 10 years since we launched our BCI programme in the United States, and we have since seen significant growth, alliance and progress across the country’s Cotton Belt.
Throughout our 10-Year US Impact Report, we share data insights from 2014-24 while contextualising the diverse landscape of cotton-growing regions, fellow initiatives, researchers and farmers contributing to cotton sustainability across the US. The report includes:
- Evidence of 10 years of fruitful network-building among partners, collaborators and producers
- National and regional context surrounding US cotton production
- Reporting on acreage, production, regenerative practice adoption, irrigation water use efficiency and use of inputs
- Details on our reduction in pesticide usage since 2020
- BCI projects, including on-farm research collaborations and producer spotlights
- Where the US Programme is headed next
Sustainability challenges
Cotton in the US is grown throughout the US Cotton Belt, an area that stretches from Virginia to California. In many parts of the Cotton Belt, farmers struggle to manage weeds that have developed resistance to common herbicides, making it necessary to use alternative herbicides and weed management techniques and/or herbicide rotations to reduce overall usage.
Extreme weather events are also impacting growers. California, known for its long-staple cotton varieties, has experienced a multi-year drought, making irrigation water both scarce and costly. In other regions like West Texas, water tables are falling, compelling farmers to invest in more efficient irrigation methods or transition to less water-intensive crops. Some BCI Farmers are installing drip irrigation, which can reduce irrigation water needs by up to 50%.
Through our US Program Partners, we help farmers address these and other sustainability challenges to improve their performance and profitability.
Find out more about the outcomes farmers are experiencing by participating in the BCI programme in our latestAnnual Report
US Cotton Connections: BCI & Quarterway Cotton Growers Annual Field Event
Meet the forward-thinking farmers who make up Quarterway Cotton Growers, our long-time Program Partners who have cohosted this annual multi-stakeholder field event with us for the past three years.
The event gathers representatives from across the supply chain to learn first-hand about localized approaches to sustaining cotton farming in the country’s largest producing state. We tour the local USDA Classing Office and are guided through the Quarterway growers’ gin, equipment and fields.
In Search of the Rosetta Stone of Soil Health
“We’re not going to decode this in one year, but maybe we can find a corner and start to build off of that.”
A fifth-generation farmer based in Scotland Neck, North Carolina, Zeb has worked with us since 2017. Supported in part by innovation funds from BCI, along with ag-tech providers GROWERS and the Soil Health Institute, he has been implementing tissue sampling and soil testing to gather data that will improve his land and yields.
Navigating Regenerative Farming in California’s Central Valley
“You have to learn to manage the cons, and take advantage of the pros.”
Implementing regenerative practices like cover cropping comes with obstacles, but fourth-generation farmer Gino Pedretti accepts these challenges in learning how to manage and plant differently. He recognizes the benefits: increase in organic matter, reduction in tillage, and gradual distancing from synthetic fertilizers. Read more here
BCI Licensed US Farmers Adopt Innovative Pest Management Techniques
In 2022, we started working with Dr Peter Ellsworth, Professor of Entomology and Extension IPM Specialist at the University of Arizona, and his team at the university’s Maricopa Agricultural Center (MAC) to sort through the biggest cotton pest issues and identify realistic solutions.
This season, the team at MAC is partnering with Ak-Chin Farms, a licensed BCI Farm located a short drive from the centre in Arizona, to field-test the system. Plots have been established at the farm to compare the use of the tool versus traditional pest-scouting methods.
In August 2023, Ak-Chin Farms hosted over 40 pest control advisers, researchers, farmers and industry representatives to give them hands-on experience in scouting for pests and natural enemies, and using the predator count tool.
Get in touch
Stay up to date on BCI’s US Program and opportunities to join us in the field by signing up for our US Newsletter below, or feel free to reach out directly to our in-country team at [email protected]