Commodity prices are higher than they have been since before the financial crisis in 2008. But one commodity is doing better than all of the others: cotton. A pound of cotton currently costs more than $2 – that’s up from about 85 cents just a year ago, and higher than it has ever been in history. In fact, it is the second time since the Civil War that cotton has gone over $1. We talk with Gary Feist, a cotton farmer in Wakita, Oklahoma, who’s been in the business for the past 15 years. Feist is also the manager of the Southern Kansas Cotton Growers Cooperative.
The story you just read is not locked behind a paywall because listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Now more than ever, we need your help to support our global reporting work and power the future of The World. Can we count on you?