Farm bill delay could affect 2015 cotton planting

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Cotton growers in Texas and other southwestern states plagued by years of drought may plant fewer acres next season because of a bureaucratic delay in implementing a provision of the farm bill.

The U.S. Agriculture Department was supposed to calculate production yields for all commodities by county in time for the 2015 crop year. But it now says the department’s Risk Management Agency can’t do that until the 2016 crop year.