Flow-Shipment

Warehouses Not Complying with Mandatory Reporting
The linked page is updated each week and shows the number of warehouses by state and region that fail to submit weekly cotton flow (BMAS) reports.

NCC, USDA Announce 4-Bale Module Averaging Pilot 

The National Cotton Council (NCC) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) jointly announced the launch of the 4-Bale Module Averaging Pilot Program. This voluntary program, part of the USDA’s Cotton and Tobacco Program, aims to enhance cotton bale fungibility through modern techniques, increasing efficiencies in warehouse bale selection and improving overall quality. The initiative stems from the collaborative efforts of the NCC’s Cotton Flow Committee and the Quality Task Force, which identified cotton bale fungibility as a key area of mutual interest.

The pilot program includes specific criteria for averaging bales and reporting data back to customers. Participation is flexible, allowing customers to submit modules in multiples of four up to a total of 48 bales.

Enhanced Reporting Should Improve U.S. Cotton Flow
Recently implemented policies based on National Cotton Council resolutions regarding warehouse bale shipment reporting are aimed at enhancing the industry’s reputation for timely delivery by getting U.S. raw cotton into customers’ hands faster.

Shipping Cotton Quickly & in Good Faith
(July 2014) The relationship between cotton shippers and warehouses dates back to the beginnings of the cotton industry. ... (but) time and communication ... has often become a sticking point in today’s movement of cotton.

APHIS PHYTO Programs More Baled Cotton Friendly
USDA-APHIS has worked closely with the NCC and the cotton industry to make sure the phytosanitary certificate issuance process is cotton friendly. The APHIS PHYTO page contains useful information regarding the agency's electronic phytosanitary certificate (PHYTO) program and the APHIS compliance program for cotton warehouses.

Inspections for Megacopta cribraria (kudzu bug)
Cotton yarn spinners are asked to take additional sanitary precautions when loading yarn for export because of recent actions by Honduras affecting all commodities.

User Guide for Transferring Cotton Pledged as Collateral For a Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Loan (26K pdf)
CCC mailed a guide to selected cotton interests on April 9, 2008 containing updates and clarifications for transferring CCC loan cotton. No major changes to the transfer process were made. The purpose of the guide was to encourage merchants and others to use the web process when redeeming cotton in the CCC loan.

CCC to Implement Denied Storage Credits Software
According to “Notice CN-1030” CCC will begin denying storage credits for yard-stored upland cotton on March 25, 2008. The notice contains general provisions describing: 1) how to determine when payments begin (called the “CCC storage-start date”), 2) the loan notification date, 3) how to determine the 15-calendar-day grace period for loan bales that are yard-stored but moved inside and 4) clarifies warehouse reporting requirements for yard storage of CCC cotton loan collateral. The notice states that “…under CCC’s zero-tolerance policy about yard storage reporting, if loan bales are found to be yard-stored but not reported as yard-stored, the warehouse is subject to losing its approved status.”

CCC Issues Policy Regarding Use of Cotton Transfer Process for Certification
The Commodity Credit Corp. permits use of the loan-cotton transfer process for the purpose of replacing electronic warehouse receipts (EWR's) with certificated EWR's. This will allow loan bales to be deliverable (after they are redeemed from loan) under futures contracts of the Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.

Loan Cotton Charges and Transfers Described (52K pdf)
This NCC-developed paper describes loan charges that producers may face upon forfeiture of cotton. The paper also points out how recent regulatory changes may affect loan charges. The updated paper includes adjustments to CCC storage credit rates which reflect the changes required by the 2008 Farm Bill. In April of 2011, USDA's Farm Service Agency updated the "Fees and Charges Assessed by the Commodity Credit Corporation for Cotton Loans, Loan Forfeitures, and Relocation of Collateral" fact sheet. Page three of the fact sheet is a revised table that shows how each charge is handled.

 

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This webpage is for informational purposes only. Links or references to web sites and organizations found from links on this page shall not be construed as endorsements of those organizations policies or programs by the National Cotton Council.