Tifton, GA |

After a year marked by tight margins and ongoing uncertainty, cotton producers from across Georgia gathered in Tifton for their annual meeting — an event centered on education, innovation, and the research that plays a vital role in keeping the state’s cotton industry competitive.

For Bart Davis, Chairman of the Georgia Cotton Commission, that research is the backbone of Georgia’s cotton success.

“We would not be where we at today in cotton production in Georgia without all the research that is done and funded through the Cotton Commission,” said Davis. “It’s actually done through UGA. We wouldn’t be where we at today in cotton production. We gotta keep moving forward. I mean, we’re in trying times right now, as hard times as we’ve seen in years. And hopefully they get a little enthusiastic from this and see that there are things they can do and hopefully be more profitable or make better yields and do it cheaper.”

A Difficult Outlook for 2026

Unfortunately, those hard times may not be easing anytime soon. According to Amanda Smith, an economist with the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, 2026 is shaping up to be another challenging year for cotton and other row crop producers.

“As far as the outlook for 2026, in terms of cotton and other row crops, we’re looking at tight margins again,” Smith explained. “Primarily because commodity prices are on the lower side. They’ve stayed low for the past couple of years, and they’re expected to stay or be persistently low through 2026. And so that translates into another year of tight margins and in some cases, negative margins, especially where they’re paying land rent, or they have excess expenses.”

Smith says the issue boils down to simple economics — supply and demand.

“Looking at production last year, we had excellent production across the U.S. and in Georgia. We were looking at phenomenal production in terms of cotton, which is really great for the individual grower,” she said. “But when we have excess production and demand not changing much, it tends to mean lower prices because supplies are high, demand is stable. And so that tends to lead to lower prices.”

Maximizing Every Acre

With prices remaining low and input costs still elevated, maximizing productivity on every acre is no longer optional — it’s essential. That means fully utilizing the technology and tools many producers have already invested in.

“We’ve already invested in it, right? Let’s get our return back off of it,” said Wesley Porter, Extension Precision Ag and Irrigation Specialist with UGA. “Whether that’s better irrigation scheduling, better crop stands, or better in-season management, let’s make sure we utilize that to do the best we can moving forward and help maximize, hopefully, our profitability at the end of the year.”

Porter says even small management decisions can make a significant difference when margins are razor thin.

“Anything we can do right here to help save on our bottom line, to help increase our profitability — we have to rely on some of those tools and stuff that we may have been able to get by without using in the past,” he said. “We could have accepted a couple hundred-pound yield loss in the past. We could’ve accepted a twenty or thirty dollar higher per acre investment in irrigation at the end of the season that didn’t really return anything. But now we can’t accept that.”

As Georgia cotton producers prepare for another uncertain season, the message from Tifton was clear: research, efficiency, and precision management will be critical to weathering the storm.

By: John Holcomb