GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Cotton is making a comeback in north Florida.
The reason? The Gainesville Sun (http://bit.ly/1b0uViT) reports that farmers are taking advantage of high prices and better baling methods that make the cost of freight to cotton gins in south Georgia more feasible.
Shaw and Shaw Farms of Alachua planted 1,500 acres of cotton last year. County-wide the total was 2,529 acres. That’s up from 69 acres countywide in 2011 and 608 in 2012.
But the comeback may be short-lived if the prices trend downward.
Shaw says it can make money at about 90 cents a pound and break even at 80 cents.
A further downward trend could cause the company to decide against growing cotton this year.
Across Florida, cotton acreage increased from 105,000 in 2012 to nearly 130,000 last year.
Source: Associated Press
