USDA wants to revive the cotton industry. Experts aren’t sure that’s possible.

By: Caspar Dowdy, Investigate Midwest

Outlets: Arkansas Advocate

Published: August 22, 2026

Words: 2,823

Last Updated: 1 month, 4 weeks ago

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A denim-clad rancher poses on horseback, crimson-red shirt against a hazy blue sky. A farmer in a T-shirt stands surrounded by his crop, leaves bending toward weathered hands. “Real Americans wear cotton,” reads bold text over a photo of a sprawling white field.

This Americana-laden imagery came in an X post from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, uploaded in late May. The post — and its subsequent reply by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert …

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