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Cotton gin owner forced to adjust amid worker shortage

A cotton gin owner is making changes to his business in the face of challenges.

David Blakemore, operator of Blakemore Cotton and Grain in southeast Missouri, tells Brownfield his biggest problem is a lack of labor.

“We’ve never used H-2A before for agricultural workers, but we are actively planning on that next year to help alleviate some of these shortages,” he said. “We hate to do that, we like to stay local all we can but it looks like that’s not going to be able to keep going on.”

On top of that, Blakemore said logistics have been a challenge.

“The supply chain issues everywhere, it’s been hard for them to get the cotton in the right place at the right time,” he said.

Blakemore said the cotton market does have some positives for participants with producers well positioned in the market heading into next year.