USDA Announces 2026 Upland Cotton Marketing Assistance Loan Rate Increase

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Commodity Credit Corporation today announced that the marketing assistance loan rate for 2026-crop base quality upland cotton is 55.00 cents per pound, an increase over the 2025 upland cotton crop loan rates, allowing producers of upland cotton to borrow a higher share of the value of crops placed under loan.

Marketing assistance loans provide interim financing to producers so that commodities can be stored upon harvest when market prices are typically low and sold later when price conditions are more favorable.