LITTLE RISK SEEN FOR TEXAS COTTON FROM COLD
Texas' cotton crop stands little
chance of damage from frigid temperatures expected tonight in
that state, as very little cotton has been planted, according
to Texas agricultural sources and cotton market analysts.
    "It's still pretty early for cotton planting. Only six pct
of the crop was planted as of last week," said Doug Stillmann,
a statistician at the Texas Agricultural Statistic Service in
Austin, a division of the U.S. Agriculture Department.
    Stillmann and other cotton market sources said planting had
begun in the Rio Grande Valley and South Texas areas only, with
planting in the crucial high and low plains areas not slated to
begin until next month. The high and low plains accounted for
60 pct of the 2.5 mln bales produced in Texas last year,
Stillmann said.
    Temperatures tonight in most of Texas are expected to drop
to freezing to the low 20s, although the lower Rio Grande
Valley may see more moderate readings in the middle 30s,
according to meteorologists at Accu-Weather Inc.
    The price of new-crop cotton on the New York cotton futures
market rallied today on weather-related fears.
 Reuter
