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After a meeting in early May, Federal Reserve officials decided to make its tenth increase in interest rates since March of last year. The speed and magnitude of the change in interest rates presented a series of challenges to business practices. Financing costs have risen sharply across all industries, and a focus on cost-cutting has already led to layoffs at several large corporations.

For cotton, a steep correction in demand has been underway for several months. As concerns about the trajectory of economic growth mounted toward the second half of 2022, order volumes collapsed. However, consumer spending did not drop as was feared. Although uncertainty remains for the future, inflation-adjusted U.S. consumer spending has held at levels 25% higher than in 2019.

Uncertainty surrounding the trajectory of U.S. economic growth persists. The labor market continues to add jobs, and wages continue to rise at rates higher than those experienced in the decade following the financial crisis. Inflation also remains higher than the rates experienced in the decade following the financial crisis. As a result, the Federal Reserve has continued to boost interest rates (the Federal Funds rate was increased another 0.25 points in late March).

Listen in as Cotton Incorporated’s Senior Economist Jon Devine discusses forecasts for planted acreage in the U.S. and around the world and analyzes the production outlook for 2023/24.

In this Q&A session, we spoke with Dr. Gaylon Morgan, the director of Agricultural Research at Cotton Incorporated with 22 years of experience in applied cotton research, to learn more about the benefits of soil health practices for cotton production, how they can be implemented and how they impact brands and retailers.