MERCEDES – A Mercedes cotton farmer says he will sign up for a government subsidy program after what he calls the worst crop of his career.

"We started the year with a drought. Then, late into the season, we had flooding rains,” says Sam Sparks III. "I've never seen a year like this and even the old timers that have been farming now for 50 years, they've never seen a year like this year.”  

Sparks says he, along with other local cotton producers, lost millions combined. He is now looking to enroll in a U.S. Department of Agriculture program.

The program to subsidize seed cotton was eliminated from the farm bill four years ago.

As a part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, seed cotton is subsidized by the government starting next season.

KRGV’s Frank McCaffrey spoke with the State Executive Director of USDA’s Farm Service Agency, Gary Six, to find out how to enroll in the program.  

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