The U.S. cotton industry generates about 200,000 jobs. 98% of cotton is grown in 14 states – Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. Texas produces more than any other state, and it is the state’s leading cash crop.
The U.S. cotton industry produces 20% of the world’s cotton, and the crop makes up 40% of the world’s fiber production. The plant is produced on about 3,500 farms in the U.S.
Cotton is both food and fiber. Cottonseed is used as supplement for dairy feed and can also be processed into oil. A bale weighs about 500lbs, which is the equivalent to the weight of a fully grown grizzly bear. One bale can produce 1,217 t-shirts, 765 men’s dress shirts, 21, 960 handkerchiefs, 313,600 $100 dollar bills, 215 pairs of jeans, or 4,321 mid-calf socks.
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