Cotton Harvest Begins in Earnest

By Jim.Robinson|October 21, 2013

The U.S. government – and USDA’s weekly reports – may have been shut down for the past three weeks. But, mostly favorable weather conditions throughout the Cotton Belt kept the U.S. cotton crop moving toward the end of this production season.

USDA resumed its weekly Crop Progress Report this week, ending a lull in reporting that began following the September 29 report. Based on the new report, the percentage of open bolls throughout cotton-producing states has jumped to 81 percent – a 22 percent increase since the last report.

Likewise, cotton harvesting is now reported in all cotton-producing states, with an estimated 21 percent of the nation’s crop now at the gin. The highest percentages of harvested acres come from Louisiana (82 percent) and Mississippi (63 percent), with double digit percentages also reported in all but three states.

Drier weather has also contributed to a slight increase in cotton quality. Overall, the U.S. crop is now rated 44 percent good-to-excellent, 34 percent fair and 22 percent poor-to-very poor.