About Us
The American Cotton Shippers Association is comprised of Cotton Merchants, Primary Buyers and Mill Service Agents who are members of four Federated Associations, located throughout the cotton belt.
ACSA was organized on July 8, 1924 to provide a united voice for the cotton merchandising trade of the United States:
ACSA’s member firms handle the majority of the U.S. cotton sold in domestic and foreign markets. The significant market involvement of ACSA members requires that the Association take an active part in promoting the increased use of cotton in the U.S. and throughout the world; establishing with other cotton trade organizations national and international standards for trade; collaborating with producer organizations throughout the cotton belt in formulating farm programs; and cooperating with government agencies in the administration of such programs.
Cotton merchants at every level of the marketing chain benefit. While cotton is a product of nature, how much is planted, by whom, and at what price is not always a market determination; it can be influenced by USDA.
The opportunity to participate in the formulation of ACSA policy, through input to, or service on, committees or Boards of Directors. The opportunity to voice concerns on numerous issues, to recommend policy changes in USDA regulations, or to change or enact legislation is available to each ACSA member the opportunity to participate fully in the affairs of ACSA.
Chairman’s Biography
Darren Long
Darren Long is Deputy CEO of ECOM USA, LLC, where he helps oversee U.S. cotton trading, marketing, and business management, having been in this role since 2019. He is also a senior trader with ECOM Cotton, managing the group’s overall cotton risk and serving on the company’s Global Cotton Management Group.
Mr. Long has worked in the cotton industry since 2008, where he has served in a variety of roles in the U.S. and around the world with ECOM, including physical cotton trading, business development, research and analysis, and commodity derivatives trading. He began his career in a marketing, research, and trading role in Shanghai, China, and then moved to Dallas, Texas, in 2011 to focus on the company’s export sales and hedge desk operations. He also spent time in Australia and transferred to New York in 2014 to work on a soft commodities trading desk, before returning to the ECOM Cotton group in 2018.
Mr. Long has served the board of the American Cotton Shippers Association since 2021 and has been a part of the Executive Committee since 2023. He also serves on the boards of the National Cotton Council and the Southern Cotton Association. He became a member of the International Cotton Advisory Committee’s Private Sector Advisory Council in 2025.
Mr. Long received a bachelor’s degree from James Madison University and a master’s degree in international relations from the Fletcher School at Tufts University in Boston.
President’s Biography
William H. “Buddy” Allen
William H. “Buddy” Allen became the President/CEO of American Cotton Shippers Association on January 1, 2019. Mr. Allen also serves as Secretary/Treasurer of the American Cotton Exporters Association as well as Chairman of the Committee for International Co-operation Between Cotton Associations. Additionally, Mr. Allen serves on the Agricultural Advisory Board of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
After earning his degree from the University of Mississippi, Mr. Allen gained Capitol Hill experience from both the Office of United States Senator Thad Cochran and his involvement in The Macon Edwards Company, a government affairs firm, where he provided service to ACSA. He is a partner in A&J Planting Company, a vertically integrated agribusiness in Tunica, Mississippi.
Mr. Allen is a native of Belzoni, Mississippi and resides in Tunica, Mississippi. He is married to the former Allison Johnson, and they have three daughters.
Officers and
Directors
- Darren Long, Chairman, ECOM USA, LLC
- Nick Peay, First Vice-Chairman, Louis Dreyfus Company
- Krista Rickman, Second Vice Chairman, Cargill Cotton
- Azeez Syed, Immediate Past Chairman, Olam Agri Americas, Inc.
- William H. Jones, III, Treasurer, Louis Dreyfus Company
- William H. Allen, President & CEO, American Cotton Shippers Association
- Wesley Rentz, Olam Agri Americas, Inc.
- Neil Woods, Olam Agri Americas, Inc.
- Ellen Batchelder, Cargill Cotton
- Kevin McDermott, Jess Smith and Sons Cotton, Inc.
- Raymond Faus, Omnicotton, Inc.
- Jeff Johnson, Louis Dreyfus Company
- John King, Olam Agri Americas, Inc.
- Joseph T. Nicosia, Louis Dreyfus Company
- Ridwaan Omar, COFCO Americas Resources Corp.
- Leigh Pell, Louis Dreyfus Company
- Brady Raindl, ECOM USA, LLC
- Ernst D. Schroeder, Jr., Jess Smith and Sons Cotton, Inc.
- Beau Stephenson, Omnicotton, Inc.
Become a Member
Application for membership in ACSA is handled through the four federated associations of ACSA, which represent the seventeen states throughout the cotton belt. Upon joining ACSA as a Merchant, Primary Buyer or Mill Service Agent member, you also become a member of the National Cotton Council.
