Latest news with #SmallBusinessAdministrationLoan
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Big Country cotton industry faces closures amid shrinking profits, labor shortages + more
COLORADO CITY, Texas () – A multitude of factors is forcing many cotton gins across the Big Country and surrounding areas to scale back production, with some at risk of shutting down entirely. The vast cotton fields are one of the defining features of the West Texas landscape, but those in the cotton industry are facing particularly tough times. Producers Coop Gin in Colorado City, a staple since the 1930s, has seen a steady decline in production in recent years. Gin manager Ray Ritchey highlights some of the challenges contributing to this downturn. 'With lower prices, farmers are having a hard time putting anything together and making a profit. That escalated with the drought and topped that off. We had well over several weeks of above 100-degree temperature. We're in the processing end of it, and if you don't have it, you don't process it,' Ritchey shared. Big Country agriculture facing weather and legislative concerns in 2025 However, Colorado City isn't alone in feeling the effects. During a recent address to the Abilene Kiwanis Club, Taylor County Extension Agent Steve Estes discussed how some cotton gins in the northwest part of the Big Country are adopting creative strategies just to stay open. 'These three came together and pooled some of their employees and they worked between the three, and they would gin cotton in one for a while and then they get caught up, and they would shut that gym down and go to another gin and run it for a little while. These are things that we had never seen before,' Estes explained. Drought and falling prices aren't the only challenges rural cotton farmers face. A growing number of farmers are seeing their operations decline as employees leave for opportunities in other sectors. Oil and gas companies, as well as wind farms, are drawing younger generations away from cotton fields and into the oil patch. Climate change & the future of cotton production in West Texas While some government assistance, such as a Small Business Administration Loan (SBA), can help farmers and farm-related businesses keep their doors open, Ray Ritchey says the stress factor is increased when there is no product to help pay back the loan. 'This area has been declared a disaster area back in '22, and it did make us eligible for SBA loans. Still, with that being said, it's harder to buy yourself out of debt with just no volume,' Ritchey said. The National Cotton Council estimates that in the 1890s, nearly 900 U.S. cotton mills operated. Today, that number has fallen to around 100. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Yahoo
Midwest Ski Resort Owner Arrested for Assaulting Teen, Police Say
The owner of a Wisconsin ski area has been arrested after assaulting a teenager who didn't pay for a lift ticket, local police said. A press release from the Dane County Sheriff's states that deputies were called about a distraught teenager walking down Bohn Road, the access road to Tyrol Basin, around 6:00p.m. on Monday, February 24. The teenager, a 17-year-old male, told deputies that he'd arrived at the resort without a purchasing a ski pass. Staff had asked him to leave immediately and the teen complied. Want to keep up with the best stories and photos in skiing? Subscribe to the new Powder To The People newsletter for weekly he left the property, the resort's owner, Nathaniel McGree, and another staff member followed the teen and physically assaulted him, police said. McGree demanded that the teen return to the hill and pay $120, which is double the normal amount of a lift ticket, according to the police. The teen complied once again. McGree was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and physical abuse of a child and is currently in Dane County Jail, according to the press release. Charges have yet to be formally filed on the case. Tyrol Basin opened in 1958 in an effort to create an escape from bustling city a former diesel mechanic, purchased the resort in 2018 alongside other investors, using a Small Business Administration Loan. While McGree had no previous background in the ski industry, his goal was to be an on-the-ground resource for the resort and its employees, and return it to the way it was under Don McKay, the previous owner. POWDER has reached out to the resort for comment and will update this article if they reply.
