Facility

Texas High Plains Cotton Belt (Lubbock / South Plains)

Texas High Plains / South Plains (Lubbock TX hub; Plainview, Lamesa, Floydada growing areas); produces ~70% of all US cotton output and ~8-9% of global cotton production. The largest contiguous dryland cotton region in the world. Texas High Plains cotton is upland variety (Gossypium hirsutum), short-staple, dryland or Ogallala Aquifer-irrigated. Critically, the Ogallala Aquifer — which irrigates Texas High Plains cotton and food grain — is being depleted at a rate that exceeds recharge by 10-40x in parts of the region; the Texas Water Development Board projects portions of the Panhandle Ogallala will be effectively depleted within 50 years, threatening the long-term agricultural productivity of the US's largest cotton growing region. Memphis TN is the traditional trading hub for Texas/Gulf Coast cotton; Lubbock TX area gins are among the largest concentration of cotton ginning capacity in the world. Source: USDA NASS Cotton Production 2024; Texas Water Development Board Aquifer Reports.