The official certified first bale of cotton sold for $16,500, including add-ons and a $3,000 donation, at the First Bale Auction and Scholarship Fundraiser on Sept. 22, according to the Valley Morning Star.
Tommy Hanka of Tommy Hanka Farms, LLC delivered the bale to Ross Gin Co. The bale was sold to Texas Farm Credit, Bayer CropScience and Wilbur-Ellis Company for $11,000.
Add-ons starting at $1,000 were contributed by Ross Gin Co. and Fred Traylor.
The Harlingen Cotton Committee gave Tommy Hanka Farms, LLC a $3,000 reward for the first bale, which weighed 1,880 pounds. Janie Hanka donated the $3,000 reward back to the first bale of cotton on behalf of her husband, Tommy, during the event.
The Harlingen Cotton Committee, along with matching funds from the Lozano-Long Foundation, has donated roughly $60,000 to students attending the Agricultural Technology Program at TSTC.
The Harlingen Cotton Committee also presented a $10,000 check to TSTC representatives during the event. The TSTC Texas Success Scholarship and the Lozano-Long Foundation will match those funds, bringing the total scholarship to $30,000. The scholarship will support students actively pursuing a degree in an agricultural-related field.
The final ginned and baled cotton was delivered to Casa Del Sol and auctioned at the event.
Texas is the leading cotton-producing state, which produces almost 5.5 million bales of cotton. Cotton harvest is complete in the Coastal Bend region while harvest is in full swing in South Texas. Other areas like the Panhandle and West Central still have some time before cotton harvest begins, according to AgriLife Today’s Crop and Weather report.