The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Commodity Credit Corporation today announced the 2026-crop loan rate differentials for upland and extra-long staple cotton.
The differentials, also referred to as loan rate premiums and discounts, are calculated based on market valuations of various cotton quality factors for the prior three years. The Commodity Credit Corporation adjusts cotton loan rates by these differentials so that cotton loan values reflect the differences in market prices for color, staple length, leaf, extraneous matter, micronaire, length uniformity and strength. This calculation procedure is identical to that used in past years.
The 2026-crop differential schedules are applied to 2026-crop loan rates of 55.00 cents per pound for the base grade of upland cotton and 100.00 cents per pound for extra-long staple cotton. Along with USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service classing (quality) measurements, these differentials are used to determine the loan rate for each individual cotton bale.
Source : usda.gov