Cotton’s still king in Lubbock County, but a little less planted as farmers try other crops due to financial challenges

Driving around, it seems there’s less cotton and more other crops sprouting from Lubbock County soil.

It’s true, as farmers look to alternatives to cotton, continuing to give farmers financial angst.

But returns on some of those alternate crops – sorghum, corn and wheat – have not been good either. The exception is sunflowers.

Adding to sorghum challenges, China, which bought 90 percent of U.S. sorghum last year, has switched to other countries due to tariffs, according to Reuters.

And some farmers who may consider switching crops balk because of the equipment investment. A few others grow vegetables, selling to the public.

But less cotton has gone in the ground in the county.

Kody Bessent, CEO of Plains Cotton Growers, said 22,000 fewer acres of cotton were planted in 2025 and certified through the USDA, compared to 2024.

Total acres of Upland Cotton for 2024 in Lubbock County were 265,656. This year 243,194 acres were reported last month, according to Plains Cotton Growers. Final numbers for 2025 are scheduled to be reported in January.

According to a recent Lubbock Lights story, agriculture is about 25 percent of the economy in Lubbock and cotton is still king. But:

• Sunflowers increased to 9,000 acres this year, a six-fold increase over 1,500 acres in 2024, according to the USDA.
• Grain sorghum acres jumped to 38,000 acres this year over 15,000 acres last year, according to the USDA.

Even though the drought of the past few years has relented and production promises more yield per acre, prices for cotton remain lower than the cost to produce it.

Some farmers have managed to get a slightly better price than the 66 cents a pound on the futures market by joining regional marketing pools, but they will still be selling below their production costs of 85-90 cents a pound, said Bessent.

“Despite more production, market conditions are more challenging,” he said.

‘Your love for farming can’t overcome these low prices’

Stacy Smith, who with his wife and farming partner, Amie, farm 4,500 acres of cotton in Lynn County, said conditions — first the drought of the past several years and then the drop in the market price this year — makes everyone think twice about how they will continue their life’s work.

“It’s mind-boggling. It (the idea of not farming cotton) has crossed my mind. It has crossed everyone’s mind. Your love for farming can’t overcome these low prices. The passion of a farmer is running up against a cliff of profitability,” he said.

Farming in his blood, Smith said. He paid for his education at Texas Tech by working for the farmers who leased his grandfather’s land. This is his 28^th-annual cotton crop. His wife is a fourth-generation cotton farmer.

“We work hard to make things work. Farmers must have the character to lose the work you did for a year and then go back and do it again. We stayed with cotton this year. Commodity prices are down as well for grain sorghum, wheat and corn,” he said.

Smith has rotated some wheat fields into his cotton farm. He harvests those fields and saves seed to plant the next season, selling the remaining grain to the elevators. The stubble after the harvest remains to shield the soil from erosion and to help retain moisture. The following spring cotton is planted in that field. It also saves irrigation water, a precious commodity in arid West Texas.

Smith, past president of Plains Cotton Growers who still serves in various roles, said the organization is vital to advocate for farmers on the local, state and federal levels.

“It’s something you believe in. This country needs a viable agricultural economy and you want to restore that.”

Bessent said local farmers rely on crop insurance, federal subsidies and some state assistance like an expanded farm loan program that passed this summer to get them through lean years.

“Not just farmers, but it will help (cotton) gins,” he added, expressing gratitude for local lawmakers who helped pass the bill in Austin.

State House Bill 43, which will go into effect in 2026:

• Increases loan and grant caps
• Cuts matching funds requirements
• Expands the age of those who can participate
• Increases eligibility to agricultural support businesses like cotton gins.

The Buying American Cotton Act is a federal bill, proposed in May, that would offer tax credits on cotton products produced with domestic crops.

Advances in technology make it possible to track bales of cotton as they travel around the world to textile mills in Turkey, Vietnam, Bangladesh and other countries where the bales turn into sheets, towels, rugs and clothing – then return to the United States as finished products, Bessent said.

The goal is to increase demand for American cotton, he said.

“Across the board most crops are not breaking even or profitable. It’s more about how producers are managing the risk. It takes a lot of creative thinking on the part of producers. They are keeping their heads up. It’s going to be a better year than we’ve had in the past two or three years. They are trying to prosper and live another day. I’m proud to be part of that process,” Bessent said.

Smith’s neighbor, Alan West, farms 3,500 acres in Lubbock and Lynn counties, with his wife, Amy, and has for 35 years.

The fallout for farmers from tariffs have been tough, he said. “Tariffs are tough on cotton and soybeans because a lot of that production is exported to international markets.”

Also once buyers like China switch to suppliers in other countries, it’s challenging to win them back to the United States: “Once a bridge is burned, it’s hard to rebuild,” West said.

Domestic production of finished cotton goods is scarce.

“We used to have a (cooperative) denim mill in Littlefield. Quite a few producers were partners in trying to keep that going. Being dependent on the international market has come back to haunt us,” he said.

Although he appreciates the efforts of lawmakers, he said a comprehensive federal farm bill needs to pass. “We have a bandaid farm bill, but until we stimulate market demand we are in dire straits.”

A strong dollar in international markets, make goods made with American cotton much more expensive overseas, West said.

Many area farmers would be willing to diversify into other crops if they weren’t so heavily invested in all the specialized equipment it takes to farm cotton, West said. Also, lenders want to see production success when they make a loan, making diversification even more challenging in lean times.

Additionally, some crops like corn or alfalfa take more water to irrigate than cotton: “My water is not adequate. Most of us are geared up for row crops, especially Upland cotton,” West said.

From fertilizer to irrigation, “we’ve tried our best to cut down on production costs. But it takes so much (money) to make a crop.” He added farmers are in a unsustainable pattern, “we’re chewing up equity and postponing capital investments.”

Faith2Farm

Kelsey and Randy McGee chose another route for their farming ambitions. They sell turnips and squash wholesale. But they market some vegetables directly through their farm stand, Faith2Farm Market Garden, 1511 CR 7140, the Lubbock Downtown Farmers Market and other venues.

One summer day, their shady barn had a steady trickle of customers for their baskets of yellow and emerald squash, green beans, peas, plump peppers and the ruddy tomatoes grown in nearby garden greenhouse tunnels. What the McGees don’t grow, their neighbors do.

“We purchase some produce from our neighbors, but we grow as much as we can — tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, sweet corn … butternut squash.” Kelsey McGee explained. They have 30 acres near Idalou, Four Leaf Farms LLC and the fields off East 82^nd Street.

McGee had been a banker for almost 15 years, until her bank was sold in 2018 and family matters required her support, she said. As her life shifted, the couple decided in 2020 it was time to realize her childhood dream of running a farm stand.

“We decided to step out in faith that God would provide,” she said.

Her husband had always been in agriculture, first in his grandfather’s alfalfa fields while cultivating his small cow/calf herd at the same time.

That endeavor has turned into several hundred acres of hay ground along with the commercial vegetable operation. Randy McGee studied agriculture at Texas Tech, while Kelsey studied accounting.

“Randy has always been feeding animals or humans. He’s honed his craft and dialed it in,” she said.

Growing food is important to the couple, even though Kelsey comes from a long history of cotton farmers. Some federal funding based on sales is available for specialty crops, she said.

“We’re in a food desert. Not everybody’s trying to grow vegetables in West Texas. It’s hard, but I feel honored we get to participate in the food system in some way. I hope we get to continue, I really do. Growing food is special and fundamental. You can’t go three days without eating,” she said.

More and more people have an increased awareness of the food cycle and are eating locally produced food, she said.

“It’s a calling. It’s not for everyone. We will be obedient to what God has for us and we’ll keep farming until He tells not to,” she said.

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