HARVESTING COTTON: SOUTHEAST MISSOURI COTTON SHARES IN NATION'S SUCCESS STORY

More than Half of the cotton harvested in Missouri is placed into giant modules 32 feet long, 18 feet wide and contain 10 to 15 bales of cotton.some cotton is dumped into wagons or trucks for transportation to the cotton gin.

The cotton harvest in Southeast Missouri is almost completed -- at least 96 percent, says David Ensley, an agricultural statistician for the Missouri Agricultural Statistics Services.A few gins are still working, but some will close gin operations early this week."There's still a few modules out there," said one gin operator.More than half of the state's cotton is placed into giant modules 32 feet long and 18 feet wide.With four-row and five-row cotton harvesters, the module idea has caught on among major cotton producers in the mid-1990s.Using special module equipment, farmers can put 10, 12 and 15 bales into a module, which is covered and can be left in the field for several days.Cotton gins have special trucks designed to haul the 15,000- to 22,000-pound modules to the gin.Cotton's role in economyCotton's role in the Southeast Missouri and U.S. economy is a major one.The nation's cotton industry generates more than $50 billion in revenue annually, making cotton America's No. 1 value-added crop, said a spokesman for the National Cotton Council of Memphis, Tenn.This region shares in the cotton story. More than 430,000 acres of cotton were planted in Missouri.Although the final harvest figures are not in, statisticians estimate that more than 375,000 bales will be harvested this year, up more than 12 percent from last year.Last year was not a good year for cotton producers an "unmitigated disaster," say some producers.Producers averaged 471 pounds a bale in 1998, the lowest yield an acre since 1983 when growers averaged only 377 pounds an acre.The five-year average, including 1998, was 861 pounds an acre, with the 10-year average at 852 pounds an acre. The 1999 yield per acre, more than 550 pounds, will still be shy of the five- and 10-year averages. However, the quality is good this year, say ginners. Missouri cotton is raised in seven Southeast area counties, led by Dunklin County, which ranges in acreage from 135,000 to 165,000 acres annually. Other big cotton counties include New Madrid and Pemiscot. New Madrid farmers have planted more than 100,000 acres the past three years, and Pemiscot County totals have been around the 75,000-acre mark. Cotton is also raised in Stoddard, Scott, Mississippi and Butler counties.Missouri is among the "Top 10" cotton-producing states. Texas is No. 1, producing about 4 million bales, and California is No. 2, producing about 3 million bales. They are followed by Mississippi and Arizona.Top producing nations are China, United States, Russia and India. Nationally, production and consumption of the cotton crop are at record levels; consumer preference for cotton products increases yearly, and international markets are driving U.S. exports to levels not seen since the 1970s.During a typical year, the production and processing of cotton and its byproducts employ more than 340,000 Americans and involve the purchase of more than $25 billion in supplies and services, said the cotton council.Council officials report that production of last year's crop in the United States involved farmers' purchase of $4 billion worth of fertilizers, fuel, equipment and farm supplies and services. After cotton leaves the farm, it generates vigorous business activity for more than 3,000 domestic processing and handling firms gins, cottonseed mills, warehouses, merchandisers and textile manufacturers.The textile manufacturing jobs pay higher wages than many service jobs and create three times more secondary jobs as service jobs.Cotton production nationally this year is expected to produce about 17 million bales.The cotton dollar turns over 10 times in the nation's economy, say cotton council officials. It is a unique agricultural commodity, and is used in thousands of products, ranging from underwear to explosives.According to the national council, cotton captures more than 65 percent of the U.S. clothing market.

Following are conomic figures for the region's cotton-producing counties, based on five-year averages:

Dunklin, $44.2 million

New Madrid, $29 million

Pemiscot, $22.7 million

Stoddard, $6.4 million

Scott, $2.9 million

Mississippi, $1.2 million

Butler, $235,000