A decline of wheat acres in 2017 caused some producers to grow more cotton, and it appears that trend could continue moving into 2018.

The speculative funds are near record longs so far at the beginning of the year, and open interest is at a 9-year high.

For the last 10 weeks, cotton has been closing higher. Last week, it bucked the trend, closing lower. This is “a bit concerning” for Craig Van Dyke, risk management with Top Third Ag Marketing, because of the open interest in the market.

“I expect cotton to be a pretty fun trade moving at the beginning of the year,” he said on AgDay.

Hear his advice for farmers who might not be forward contracting the crop on AgDay above.