How PCCA’s Cotton Marketing Options Unlock the Power of Diversification

By Blair White

Farming requires diversification. What if there was a way to manage risks and still harness the power of cooperative marketing?

While farmers across the Cotton Belt are adding new revenue streams to their operations, PCCA is creating cotton marketing choices that can be tailored to fit those needs. There is no substitute for the convenience, infrastructure, and variety PCCA provides as a trusted marketing co-op. You can diversify your operation under the PCCA bale mark, regardless of your risk tolerances or vision for your operation’s future.

Diversification can bolster business resilience by providing multiple revenue streams, which can offset losses in one area with gains in another. For example, if you want to market half of your cotton in the open (cash) market and the other half in a marketing pool, PCCA is the “easy button” for both choices.

Our Seasonal Pool is an acreage-based contract, not an agreement for a specific number of bales. The grower-owner can contract every bale or every other bale of the contracted farm’s production. The agreement remains in effect yearly unless the grower-owner cancels it during the one-month Sign In / Sign Out Period each year. Our expert sales staff manages marketing your cotton for you with this option.

“It’s helpful to remember that you and a grower in another county or even another state are helping each other out by creating a larger footprint of acres,” said Keith Lucas, PCCA’s Vice President of Marketing. “Our ability to aggressively market the pool is highly correlated to the number of acres available to distribute the risks. Additional acres provide more opportunities to price before harvest.”

PCCA has top-of-the-line cash marketing programs that give you added control so you can work to achieve the best price for your crop. PCCA Direct® provides the convenience of receiving competitive prices at your fingertips. Our team can contact you through the myPCCA app or your gin with an offer to purchase your cotton. PCCA Direct On-Call allows growers to stay long in the market without being long physical bales. Growers who believe cotton futures will increase will most likely benefit from this tool.

Lastly, PCCA offers exclusive access to The Seam®, the world’s largest and most reliable online trading platform. Marketing your cash cotton online means most of the buyers in the world have seen your recap. The Seam’s extensive network makes negotiating your cotton’s price much more effortless. You can think of utilizing The Seam like selling your home through a realtor. You’re likely to get better bids simply from the high level of exposure that avenue offers.

Diversification also allows businesses to adapt more quickly to market changes and unforeseen challenges, helping ensure operational sustainability so you can pass your farm down for generations. Additionally, diversification reduces reliance on a single venture, spreading risk and enhancing one’s ability to weather economic fluctuations.

We know that some years, a grower’s goal may be to wipe their brow at the end of the season and say, “I made it.” Other times, the goal may be operational growth and expansion. When focusing on growth, two things likely top your list of must-haves: convenience and the highest total value. Both indicate that you might want more control over the price you accept for your cotton. Diversifying your operation with PCCA can provide a strategic advantage to expanding your operation, as it allows you to spread risk across different methods of cotton marketing. By incorporating a variety of PCCA marketing choices into your portfolio, you can tap into new markets and customer bases, potentially increasing those revenue streams.

Exploring the various marketing choices PCCA offers can help uncover lucrative opportunities that a more focused approach could overlook. It also allows for quick adjustments to consumer preferences and global market shifts, keeping growers like you responsive. Our sales staff has 174 years of comnined experience selling cotton. No matter what PCCA marketing option you choose, you have the support and assistance of the entire cooperative behind you.

The cotton marketing infrastructure PCCA provides is second to none. We help build a solid business foundation at the farm and gin levels by providing technology services that can connect you to as many opportunities to sell your cotton as possible. No matter where you are currently or where you are going in your farming operation, you can find the diversification you desire under our marketing umbrella.

For more information, call us at 806- 763-8011 or visit our Marketing Options page.