Cotton Harvest Picks Up Pace…Slowly

By Jim Steadman|October 4, 2021

Cotton harvesters are in the fields across a broader geography. So says the USDA Crop Progress report for the week ending Oct. 3.

According to the report, 13% of the U.S. cotton crop has now been harvested, led by Texas and Arizona, with Mississippi and Louisiana making gains in the past week. In all, 14 of the 15 cotton-producing states are now reporting harvest activity – which is lagging 6 percentage points behind the 5-year average for this date.

Bolls are still opening across all of the Cotton Belt. The report shows open bolls reported in 70% of the crop – up 10 percentage points in the past week but 5 percentage points off the 5-year pace. Nine states also showed double digit increases, led by Kansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Alabama, and South Carolina.

Overall crop condition remains relatively unchanged. The report rates 62% of the crop as good/excellent, 32% fair, and 6% poor/very poor.