South Carolina boll weevil assessments can now be paid online

South Carolina cotton growers can now pay their Boll Weevil Eradication Program assessment by visiting https://www.bollweevilsc.org/.

The new online payment platform was designed through a collaboration between Clemson University’s Department of Plant Industry and the farm accounting software company AgStar. The online system was developed in response to a request by the South Carolina Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation Board.

“It was time to modernize the payment process. Farming is a tough business, and farmers are busy people. Our hope is that this online platform will save cotton producers a little time, so they can get back to the work at hand,” said Steven Long, assistant director of Clemson Regulatory Services who oversees and state’s invasive species programs.

Invoices were emailed to the state’s 543 cotton growers Nov. 13, and the assessment is due Dec. 15. The total statewide assessment is expected to be $275,749.63.

The S.C. Boll Weevil Eradication Program monitors the state’s cotton crops for boll weevils through an intricate system of traps.

While some people think the boll weevil is a problem of the past, the insect still infests cotton at the southern tip of Texas, as well as Mexico, Central America and South America, and needs to be taken seriously.

“The boll weevil is the most devastating insect pest of cotton, and profitable production of cotton in the U.S.A. is not possible unless we continue to monitor and irradicate it. While there are rules that equipment coming into the state must be cleaned and disinfected, all it would take is a few ‘hitchhikers’ to cause a big problem,” said Long

South Carolina is part of Southeastern Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation, which includes South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Missouri, North Carolina and Virginia. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service, South Carolina harvested 210,000 acres of upland cotton in 2023 with a value of $208.7 million.