A field study was conducted to determine the direct costs incurred by cotton producers whose fields are traversed by overhead electric transmission lines. Primary data were collected on the machinery time loss working around powerline support structures, the crop area loss beneath support structures and yield loss beneath transmission wires. Results indicate that the cost of machinery time loss is affected by a powerline support structure's location/orientation in the field but that the single greatest cost incurred is due to cotton yield loss beneath a 500 kv-wire.