As part of the upland cotton and the rice marketing assistance loan programs, USDA calculates and publishes, on a weekly basis, what is known as the adjusted world price (AWP). The AWP is the prevailing world price for upland cotton, adjusted to account for U.S. quality and location. Producers who have taken out USDA marketing assistance loans may choose to repay them at either the lesser of the established loan rate for upland cotton, plus interest, or the announced AWP for that week. The AWP for cotton also is used for determining Step 2 payments.