COLORADO CITY, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – A multitude of factors is forcing many cotton gins across the Big Country and surrounding areas to scale back production, with some at risk of shutting down entirely.
The vast cotton fields are one of the defining features of the West Texas landscape, but those in the cotton industry are facing particularly tough times. Producers Coop Gin in Colorado City, a staple since the 1930s, has seen a steady decline in production in recent years. Gin manager Ray Ritchey highlights some of the challenges contributing to this downturn.
“With lower prices, farmers are having a hard time putting anything together and making a profit. That escalated with the drought and topped that off. We had well over several weeks of above 100-degree temperature. We’re in the processing end of it, and if you don’t have it, you don’t process it,” Ritchey shared.
However, Colorado City isn’t alone in feeling the effects. During a recent address to the Abilene Kiwanis Club, Taylor County Extension Agent Steve Estes discussed how some cotton gins in the northwest part of the Big Country are adopting creative strategies just to stay open.
“These three came together and pooled some of their employees and they worked between the three, and they would gin cotton in one for a while and then they get caught up, and they would shut that gym down and go to another gin and run it for a little while. These are things that we had never seen before,” Estes explained.
Drought and falling prices aren’t the only challenges rural cotton farmers face. A growing number of farmers are seeing their operations decline as employees leave for opportunities in other sectors. Oil and gas companies, as well as wind farms, are drawing younger generations away from cotton fields and into the oil patch.
While some government assistance, such as a Small Business Administration Loan (SBA), can help farmers and farm-related businesses keep their doors open, Ray Ritchey says the stress factor is increased when there is no product to help pay back the loan.
“This area has been declared a disaster area back in ’22, and it did make us eligible for SBA loans. Still, with that being said, it’s harder to buy yourself out of debt with just no volume,” Ritchey said.
The National Cotton Council estimates that in the 1890s, nearly 900 U.S. cotton mills operated. Today, that number has fallen to around 100.