1966 Supplement to Costs of Producing Upland Cotton in the United States, 1964

Excerpts from the report Summary: The total cost of producing the U.S. crop of upland cotton in 1966 was 26.6 cents per pound of lint, compared with 27.3 cents in 1965 and 28.4 cents in 1964. The small decline in cost per pound in 1966 occurred in spite of a reduction in yield, according to a USDA survey made in major producing areas. The chief determinants of this cost reduction were a substantial decrease in the labor input and higher prices received for cottonseed. The value of seed produced was subtracted from the total cost of producing lint and associated seed and the residual was assumed to represent the cost of producing lint. This method implies that the cost of producing seed, a byproduct, is equal to its value. Total costs reflect market rates of return to all inputs except unpaid management. Inputs of unpaid management are not included in our cost estimates because of the lack of a definitive concept of management as an input and the associated measurement problems. The total direct cost of producing cotton (this excludes charges for land and farm overhead items) was 20.6 cents per pound of lint. The 1966 costs are associated with an average yield of 518 pounds of lint per acre.