{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hydesmith.senate.gov/cotton-industry-deploys-actions-ensure-survival", "Cotton industry deploys actions to ensure survival", "2025-12-17", "2025", "2025-12", "Republican", "Senate", "MS", "Cindy Hyde-Smith", "H001079", "www.hydesmith.senate.gov", "hydesmith", "https://www.hydesmith.senate.gov/newsroom", "scraper", "A sustainability campaign and expanding to new markets are just a couple ways cotton growers and organizations are trying to boost the industry.\n\nBy Ron Smith, Contributing Writer, Farm Progress\n\nDavid Dunlow has grown cotton for 40 years, and he wants to continue.\n\nDunlow farms with his son, William, in Northampton County, N.C. The current economic outlook for cotton, he said, is the worst he has experienced. First thing the industry needs is legislation to stop its fiscal bleeding.\n\nThe cotton industry is responding and working to improve that grim outlook through several projects, initiatives and with legislation.\n\nChad Brewer, vice president of Technical Services at the National Cotton Council, said the council is backing a bill that would incentivize companies to use U.S. cotton.\n\n\u201cMississippi Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith introduced the \u2018Buying American Cotton Act,\u2019\u201d Brewer said. \u201cThe council and the cotton industry are putting a lot of effort behind that on Capitol Hill and in meetings with legislators.\u201d\n\nHe said the bill seeks to:\n\nEncourage the consumption of cotton that originated in the United States and products made from such cotton.\n\nDocument the processing of such cotton through a trustworthy supply-chain tracing system, such as the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol.\n\nIf enacted into law, the bill would offer tax breaks and other incentives to companies that use U.S.-grown cotton.\n\nPlant, not plastic\n\nBrewer said the recently launched campaign called \u201cPlant, not Plastic\u201d encourages consumers to consider the effects microfibers have on the environment and on human health.\n\n\u201cCotton is a natural fiber, is biodegradable and does not accumulate in the food chain,\u201d he said. \u201cMicrofibers, even if not ingested, get into water systems and into the food supply. \u2018Plant, Not Plastic\u2019 is creating public awareness around the tie between textiles and their role in creating microplastics.\u201d\n\nBuilding markets\n\nThe U.S. consumes roughly the equivalent of 19 million bales of cotton annually.\n\n\u201cAs producers, we want to grow that 19 million bales and have a sustainable industry. We're trying to capture that U.S. market,\u201d David Dunlow said.\n\nBrewer said Cotton Council International plays a role in building markets. \u201cIn early summer I went with a CCI industry delegation to Pakistan, where we met with mill owners to promote U.S. cotton, looking for better ways to do business together.\u201d\n\nThe Dunlows said another NCC initiative could help federal regulatory agencies understand farm practices and challenges.\n\nTalking with regulators\n\nLast summer, the Cotton Foundation hosted 13 federal regulators on a tour in North Carolina and Virginia, where they visited producers like the Dunlows, Cotton Incorporated and a spinning mill. The tour featured open dialogue between farmers and agency representatives.\n\n\u201cThe people I met on that tour had a micro view of agriculture,\u201d William said. \u201cThey're extremely detail oriented but had not considered agriculture from a 30,000-foot view. Many had no idea of the price of cotton, no idea what a cotton picker cost and no idea of the financial challenges we face.\u201d\n\nFarmers are not just numbers, he said, but are real people trying to provide for their families. \u201cWe shared ideas, and I hope it opened their eyes to what we do on the farm,\u201d Williams said.\n\n\u201cMost of the folks who come on these tours are chemists, biologists, or in other branches of science. Most have had little or no interaction with agriculture,\u201d Brewer said. \u201cThey are experts in their fields, but the only way for them to understand how their decisions affect agriculture is to meet folks like David and William. Getting them on a farm makes a difference.\u201d\n\n\u201cI think the most impactful exercises ag organizations can perform is to bring people to our fields to meet real farmers. I think it will have a lasting impact on many of them. They're trying to do good work, and I hope they left feeling the same about us,\u201d Williams said.\n\n\u201cWe are in the cotton business,\u201d David added. \u201cEven though we planted a lot less acreage than we used to in 2025, we still consider ourselves cotton farmers.\u201d\n\nBrewer said the National Cotton Council\u2019s Technical Service group is exploring other ways to keep cotton a viable option for U.S. agriculture.\n\nAddressing challenges\n\nBrewer said NCC wants producers to have access to all the tools they need.\n\n\u201cOver the last few years, cotton has faced significant challenges, including pesticide registrations. The key mission of the Cotton Foundation is to provide education and outreach to producers, the public, legislators and regulatory agencies,\u201d he said.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hydesmith.senate.gov/cotton-industry-deploys-actions-ensure-survival"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.1291938610374928, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}