Kansas cotton producers are proposing that lawmakers create a prevention program for boll weevils, an insect that could decimate a crop of growing importance to the state’s agricultural economy.
Boll weevils are a beetle that feeds on cotton buds and flowers. The bugs are notorious for how a plague of the insects can wipe out a crop, which is why House Agriculture Committee members are taking up the issue.
Rep. Ken Rahjes, R-Agra and the committee chair, even played part of Brook Benton’s song, “The Boll Weevil,” during Thursday’s committee meeting.
“Spoiler alert on the song, every time the farmer sees the weevil there’s more of them, because they reproduce like crazy, and that is the truth,” said Rex Friesen, a crop consultant for the Southern Kansas Cotton Growers Cooperative.
While Kansas is known as the Wheat State, cotton is expected to continue taking over more acreage amid water supply problems, especially in the southwest corner of the state. Cotton is more drought resistant and requires less water than other crops grown in the region.
Kansas State University researchers are studying how best to grow cotton in the state.
The Kansas Department of Agriculture reported that a record high of 184,000 acres of cotton were harvested statewide in 2020. That’s up from 54,000 in 2012.
“Cotton has continued to grow in acreage in the state of Kansas,” Miller said, “and so we’ve been hearing about the concerns from our neighbors about monitoring specifically to make sure that we don’t introduce boll weevils into the state.”
Feist said a bale of cotton weights 480 pounds and currently sells for about $1.20 per pound — which is much higher than the 60-70 cents he has historically seen.
Dryland production is about 1.5 to 1.75 bales per acre, while irrigated land can produce two or three bales an acre.
The state’s 2020 harvest was worth about $82.6 million, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics. That year, the 184,000 acres harvested produced about 300,000 bales, valued at a little more than $0.58 per pound.
Meanwhile, the state’s corn production was valued at $3.3 billion, soybean yield came in at $2.1 billion, the wheat crop was worth $1.3 billion and sorghum was valued at $1.1 billion.
Rep. Brett Fairchild, R-St. John, noted the proposed mandatory program would be “100% funded by this new tax or fee or whatever you call it on cotton farmers.”
He asked whether state general fund money should be used to help fund the program. Kansas has a projected budget surplus of about $2.9 billion for the fiscal year.
“We’re having trouble even finding ways to spend that money,” Fairchild said. “So I just thought that might be something that maybe could have been a better option, as far as transferring a little bit of money so that we’re not imposing a new tax or fee on farmers.”
A National Cotton Association representative suggested that state funding would be welcome, but it is uncommon unless there is an active eradication.
Rahjes, the committee chair, asked why Kansas needs to participate in the national efforts.
“It’s unlikely that we’ll ever see them in Kansas because Oklahoma serves as a good buffer,” Friesen said.
Harvest equipment must be certified weevil-free before leaving the infestation area, as well as when crossing state lines. The risk may be slim, but it is still there, Friesen said.
“Over these last few years, Kansas has been short of harvesters to handle the crop that we have,” Friesen said. “We’re becoming more and more self-sufficient. So the need for bringing in custom harvesters, especially from South Texas, I would expect that need to go down.”
Friesen said a boll weevil infestation knocks the fruit off the plant. Because of their biological cycle, once the population is established, it is “nearly impossible to get
rid of them without very costly treatments.”
Rep. Michael Murphy, R-Sylvia, asked whether the weevils can survive a Kansas winter.
“In my opinion, I think they would survive because they’re excellent little critters in finding places to hide to pass the winter,” Friesen said. “If cotton can survive, I think the weevils could, too.”
The insect was long ago eradicated from much of the United States, but it remains an ever-present threat to return, Friesen said.
Friesen has experience as a pest management extension agent for cotton in Texas. Southern Texas near the Mexico border is the only place in the country where boll weevils are presently a pest.
“Boll weevils continue to immigrate from Mexico, posing a constant threat to U.S. cotton production,” Friesen said.
While the federal government has been working with Mexico, eradication efforts there have not seen the same level of success.
He said efforts to prevent the bugs from spreading in the U.S. have been “overwhelmingly successful.” However, there is a possibility the weevils could fly or “hitchhike” on custom harvesting equipment that is moved across state lines. That’s why other states in the Cotton Belt continue to have monitoring programs.
“Kansas needs an independent, self-funded organization to manage trapping and associated tasks to guarantee the rapid detection and response to any boll weevil infestation, should it arise,” Friesen said.
Jason Tidd is a statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal.
