Crop Progress: Cotton Condition Continues to Slide

The 2023 U.S. cotton crop continues to deteriorate, as excessive heat and too little water are taking their toll on the acres across the Cotton Belt.

According to the USDA Crop Progress report for the week ending Aug. 13, there’s been a 9-percentage point shift into the poor/very poor category. The report shows that only 36% of the crop is now rated good/excellent, 21% fair, and 43% rated poor/very poor. The majority of the stress is visible in the Texas and Oklahoma crops (66% and 63% respectively rated poor/very poor).

Cotton squaring is now reported in 96% of the crop, with boll set now visible in 72% of the crop (up 9 percentage points). Open bolls can be found in 13% of the crop. That’s up 5 percentage points in the past week.