79R8313 KO-F

By:  Herrero                                                      H.R. No. 912



R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, Cotton has ranked as one of the most important crops 
in Texas for a century and a half, and its significance was formally 
recognized in 1997 by the 75th Legislature, which named it the 
official fiber and fabric of the Lone Star State; and
	WHEREAS, Introduced to Texas by Spanish missionaries, cotton 
soared in production between 1850 and 1900, when it reached more 
than 3.4 million bales; contributing to the expansion were the 
opening of new lands for cultivation, the invention of barbed wire, 
and the extension of the railroad; cultivation on the Blackland 
Prairie of Central Texas was also spurred by the development of a 
plow that could break the heavy soil there and by the influx of 
thousands of immigrants, both from the Deep South and from Europe; 
and
	WHEREAS, The State of Texas has been the scene of several 
major innovations in the cotton industry; Robert S. Munger, who 
became a leading designer of ginning equipment, developed an 
automated system ginning process in Mexia in 1884, and in 1980 the 
country's first high-volume instrument cotton-classing office 
opened in Lamesa; and
	WHEREAS, Evolution of the industry within the state has seen 
the center of cotton cultivation shift from East and Central Texas 
to the High Plains and the Rio Grande Valley, where the use of 
fertilizer and irrigation has promoted large yields; and
	WHEREAS, In past years, approximately a quarter of all the 
cotton harvested in the United States has been grown in Texas, and 
the state usually ranks first among all the states in cotton 
production; since 1995, the annual cotton crop in Texas has 
averaged 4.8 million bales and in 2003, Texas upland cotton and pima 
lint cotton were valued at $1.2 billion and Texas cottonseed at 
$208.3 million; and
	WHEREAS, With improved seed cotton varieties, along with the 
recent success of the boll weevil eradication program in Texas, 
this year's production of 7.5 million bales of cotton on 5.4 million 
acres will far exceed the previous production record of 6 million 
bales on 11.1 million acres in 1949, allowing the state to account 
for 32.8 percent of the total U.S. production; and
	WHEREAS, Much of the Texas cotton crop is shipped abroad, 
with Mexico, Central America, and Asian countries figuring among 
the largest buyers; and
	WHEREAS, The history of Texas cannot be told without taking 
into account the enormous role that cotton has played in the 
development of the state and in the life of so many of its people, 
and the crop continues to provide the livelihood of thousands of 
Texans; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 79th Texas 
Legislature hereby recognize March 29, 2005, as Cotton Day at the 
State Capitol and extend to all those associated with the industry 
and who are present here today a warm welcome and sincere best 
wishes for an enjoyable and memorable visit.