No marketing quota for 2014 upland cotton cropNo marketing quota for 2014 upland cotton crop

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that no marketing quota will be in effect for the 2014 upland cotton crop.

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 authorized commodity crop programs for the 2008 through 2012 crop years and the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 extended this authorization for the 2013 crop year.

Unless superseded by new farm legislation, any actions taken by USDA pertaining to the 2014 upland cotton crop must be done in accordance with the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, as amended (the 1938 Act), and the Agricultural Act of 1949, as amended.

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Those laws would require, under certain market conditions, the imposition of quotas, acreage allotments and parity price support programs for upland cotton.

If a new farm bill is not signed into law or the current law is not extended, the 1938 Act would require that a marketing quota be established for the 2014 upland cotton crop if the 2013 total supply of the crop is likely to exceed the normal supply of the crop.

Normal supply is defined as the sum of total domestic and export use plus carryout stocks equal to 30 percent of such use. Based on USDA projected supply and demand for the 2013 crop of upland cotton, no quota is required.

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