Cotton holds its ground in Caldwell County

By Anthony Collins

LPR Editor                            

   As the Fall sun drops low over the rich black soils of Caldwell County, the white bolls of cotton gleam like scattered snow across fields that stretch toward the horizon. After years of volatility, local planters say the crop shows promise this season, and the county’s cotton fortunes may yet rebound.

     At the turn of the century, cotton reigned supreme in Caldwell County. In 1900, farmers planted more than 90,000 acres in cotton, nearly 70% of the county’s improved land, yielding 42,660 bales. But the subsequent decades brought soil exhaustion, volatile markets, and changing agricultural priorities. By 1930, more than 124,000 acres produced just 11,878 bales.

In response to declining yields, many farmers diversified into livestock, corn, and forage crops. The rise of oil after the Luling discovery in 1922 gave an alternative source of income and reduced total reliance on cotton. Still, the crop endures.

    Thanks to timely rains and moderate temperatures through August, the cotton crop is shaping up stronger than in recent years. Statewide, yields are projected to exceed the sluggish levels of the past two seasons. Local growers have already seen encouraging signs in Caldwell. Fields that looked thin or stressed early on have recovered. Some dryland plots, long vulnerable to late-summer drought, are now standing firm.

    The Lockhart Cotton Gin confirms this cautious optimism. Six years ago, Caldwell County planted roughly 6,000 acres of cotton and delivered nearly 10,000 bales. This year, acreage is closer to 3,000, yet the gin has already received between 3,000 and 5,000 bales. That’s a marked improvement from 2023, when the gin processed only 1,996 bales. Some farmers, however, chose not to plant at all this season, citing higher seed costs and persistently low sale prices. Many farmers are turning to other crops, or selling land altogether, as developers offer prices that create generational wealth.    But challenges persist. Cotton prices remain depressed on national markets, squeezing margins even if yields are good. “This year we had a damn good crop, the best we had in four years,” says Wayne Morse of the Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service of Caldwell County. 

     “Even though this is a great crop, the prices remain low. Today farmers are looking at .60 per pound instead of $1.00, just because of the high yields that will drive the prices down.”

     This year’s planting was pushed slightly later in some areas, as a wet spring prevented early tillage. Growers opted for hardened cotton varieties, including the strain developed locally by A.D. Mebane of Lockhart, known for resilience in Texas soils. Irrigation is rare in Caldwell’s upland soils; most fields depend on rainfall. Hence the significance of this season’s well-timed storms. Farmers report moderate boll set, with few signs of major fruit shedding.

     By mid-September, module builders and pickers began operating. Some fields already have begun ginning runs, with light loads making their way to the cotton elevators and neighboring gins. Many farmers are turning to other crops, or selling land altogether, as developers offer prices that create generational wealth.

In Martindale, another cotton-centric community, three gins once operated at full tilt. The town was also known for producing pedigree cottonseed, contributing to breeding programs that supplied much of Texas. Today, those days are gone, but the crop still holds a symbolic and economic place in the county’s agricultural identity.