ABSTRACT

Based on the Organic Trade Association's (OTA's) recent survey of U.S. organic cotton producers, farmers in five states harvested 9,897 bales of organic cotton from 11,316 acres in 2001, for an overall yield of 0.87 bales per acre. Of the 11,586 acres of organic cotton planted in seven states in 2001, 270 acres were lost to weather problems. In 2002, farmers in five states planted organic cotton on 9,044 acres, a 22 percent decrease. A growing number of large U.S. and Canadian companies in 2002 have committed to using organic cotton in their products.