Growing Cotton in Kansas: Optimal location for a successful crop

Cotton in Kansas

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In the 1980s, the first cotton gin was built in Kansas. Since then, the cotton industry has

continued to grow throughout the southern part of the state. Addison Stoddard of Kansas Farm and Ranch Radio spoke with Rex Friesen, Consulting and Public Relations Representative of Southern Kansas Cotton Growers about what makes Kansas an optimal location to grow cotton.

"Cotton is an excellent crop for Kansas because we have the two ingredients that you need to grow good cotton. You need heat and you need rainfall during the summer and most summers we get adequate heat and rain so we can do quite well on average," Friesen said.

Not only does the weather contribute to the success of cotton but also its drought tolerant

traits.

"In my opinion cotton is the most drought tolerant crop we grow in Kansas. Very well suited

for periods of drought which we pretty frequently have in Kansas. For one it has a single tap

rate that goes down very deep so it can reach moisture that other crops can't. It can reach

nutrients that other crops can't," Friesen said.

Friesen spoke about farmers in Kansas that have made cotton part of their rotation.

"I must say it makes an excellent rotation. The growers that we have down here that are growing cotton I think are the the most progressive growers we have in Kansas. They ought to be growing no-till crops as a whole and then they have cotton in the rotation. I think is a very progressive idea and it's very successful I think. There's a number of our growers

that say if it weren't for cotton we wouldn't be farming anymore," Friesen said.