Crop Scan Ag Report: 2024 Planting Off to a Favorable Start
May 6, 2024 
Our first report for the 2024 season shows that cotton planting is already underway in most areas of the Cotton Belt. Good early season moisture and warm temperatures have opened the fields for planters and, where possible, growers are making good progress. It’s still early and there’s plenty of time left to plant. But by mid-May, our contributing cotton consultants predict planting to hit its stride.
Here’s their report for early May.
Tucker Miller is a Mississippi-based independent private consultant for cotton, soybeans, corn, peanuts, rice, and vegetables.
We are about 50% planted on our cotton. Our first planted cotton is up and looking good. No thrips problems yet. We will be watching for any thrips movement this week.
Photo: Tucker Miller
Almost all of our soybeans are planted and are up. The age ranges from just up to third trifoliate. No insect problems yet.
All of our corn is up and ranges from two collared leaves to six collars. Very few insect issues have been noticed. We’re applying herbicides and fertilizer now and plowing middles where we will furrow irrigate.
Wes Briggs consults on cotton, corn, peanuts, soybeans, and small grains for growers in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida.
We’re probably 50% planted on peanuts and 10% planted on cotton. Cotton that’s up to a stand looks good.
Corn acres are down, and I think cotton acres in my area will be up a little bit. They won’t be back where they were 3-4 years ago, but I think they’ll be up 8-10% over what our planted acres were last year. There’s still a lot of cotton to plant.
This past weekend, we got anywhere from .6” to 6” of rain in places. The 5-6 inches was way too much. I hope we don’t have much to replant because there’s no seed left to replant. Growers would probably have to change varieties or plant something else. Some of the cotton planted just before this rain may be questionable.
We were extremely dry, and that rain is going to help some of the dryland peanuts that were planted. We’ll be back in the field wide open as soon as these fields dry up a little bit.
Chad Harrell owns and operates Harrell Agronomic Services in Northeastern North Carolina.
Most growers in our area started planting cotton about a week ago, with about 30% of our acres now in the ground. We have had excellent heat units over the past week and that’s expected to continue through this week.
Our biggest concern this year has been moisture. We had very little rain in April. Growers have been planting shallow, dusting in the seed hoping for some rain. So far, there has been very little emergence due to lack of moisture. Most areas received some rain over the weekend which should give us enough moisture to germinate the cotton that has been planted over the past week.
Now that we have some moisture, I expect to see good emergence and much more progress planting this week.
Mark Nemec is an independent agricultural consultant for cotton, wheat, grain sorghum and corn in the Blacklands and Brazos River Bottom area of Central Texas.
If you don’t like the weather in Texas, just wait a minute. After the hot and dry year we had in 2023, this spring has been cool and wet in Central Texas. It has not been cotton planting or growing weather. Rains have been regular on almost a weekly basis. If you didn’t get much this week, be ready for your turn next week.
Some cotton has been planted in the area, but cool and damp conditions are slowing the growth. There is still quite a bit to plant and several places to replant. Any cotton that has emerged is being invaded by thrips as seed treatments are playing or washing out.
It seems like the word got out to the weeds that growers can’t spray, so they are having a really good time growing big and strong.
When it does dry up, farmers in my area are going to be going wide open.
Kerry Siders is Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Agent-IPM for Hockley, Cochran, and Lamb Counties.
The Texas High Plains is not shown to be in drought conditions by the National Drought Mitigation Center, except those of use along the New Mexico state line are showing abnormally dry (D0) to moderate drought (D1). Suffice it to say, we are in dire need of subsoil moisture and planting moisture. At my office in Levelland, TX, we have received 1.65 inches of precipitation since January 1 of this year.
The soil temperature is sufficiently warm enough for cotton. Pre-irrigation has been going out for a while on many acres and those will be planted first. Here in the last few years, we have tended to not plant much until after mid-May in hopes of rainfall. I think most producers are ready to go despite the lack of rain and will start rolling seed in the ground the first full week of May.
My recent visits to area wheat fields have not indicated much in the way of thrips activity. These same thrips will begin to move to nearby germinating cotton, so be sure to scout. If you had wireworm damage last year, be sure you have a seed treatment which will protect from stand losses.
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