Cotton, Corn, Wheat Keep High Ground Economy Growing
Published Aug 07, 2009
Thanks to the resiliency of producers, annual yields remain high for the many crops that grow in The High Ground region.
“Agriculture has stayed somewhat insulated from severe economic impact,” says Dr. Stephen H. Amosson, extension economist for Texas AgriLife Extension Service in Amarillo. “Other industries are scrambling to become more efficient, something we in agriculture have been doing for years.”
Willingness on the part of producers to seek efficiencies, as well as technological advancements, has helped abundant High Ground crops such as cotton, wheat and corn to continue to strengthen the economy.
In recent years, The High Ground has become the top cotton-producing region in the top cotton-producing state in the country. And because so many other industries are involved in the processing and sale of cotton, money invested in the crop makes its way into many other areas of the economy, giving cotton the potential to be a cash crop for years to come.
“The High Plains of Texas is a cotton-first production region,” says Shawn Wade, director of communications for Plains Cotton Growers Inc. “You would be hard pressed to find anything that performs as well as cotton does over time.”
Meanwhile, the wheat industry’s staying power comes from the fact that the versatile crop has become an integral part of The High Ground economy. While the region accounts for nearly two-thirds of statewide wheat production, it is the role of wheat in the feedlot industry that truly stretches the total economic impact of this cash crop, which rakes in millions in grazing revenue each year.
“The wheat industry is here to stay,” Amosson says. “It is literally ingrained into everything we do here.”
Future horizons for the wheat industry remain bright thanks to the loosening of trade barriers with Cuba. Wheat has consistently been one of the top exports to Cuba each year, and the new policy creates significant new sales opportunities for High Ground wheat producers.
Meanwhile, advances in biotech wheat and subsurface drip systems have reduced expenses and increased yields for corn growers. And unlike wheat and cotton, reducing upfront costs for corn in The High Ground is that much more important because minimal rainfall in the area leads to bloated water pumping expenses.
And so as each sector of the cash crop economy in The High Ground adapts, a key ingredient for economic success is produced in the minds of farmers around the region: confidence.
“There is a bright picture for agriculture 10 to 30 years down the road,” Amosson says. “We are going to have to feed and clothe a lot of people. And the economic adjustments that producers make today opens the door for continued growth down the road.”
Story by Brandon Lowe
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