Cotton Crop Speeding Toward Harvest

It was a good week for moving the 2013 cotton crop toward the finish line, based on numbers included in the USDA Crop Progress Report for September 29.

All 15 cotton-producing states showed significant percentage increases in open bolls in the past week. The national average now stands at 59 percent – a jump of 12 percent in seven days. On a state basis, double-digit increases were reported in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, North and South Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

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As expected with this late crop, harvest continues to move slowly. Seven states (Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas) reported harvest activity last week. Growers in California, North Carolina and South Carolina also put pickers in the field in the past week.

Crop conditions are virtually unchanged from a week ago. On the positive side, 76 percent of the crop is rated fair, good or excellent. Twenty-four percent of the crop is reported poor to very poor.

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