Crop Progress: Final Push as Planting Windows End

By Jim Steadman|June 14, 2021

The USDA Crop Progress report dated June 13 showed that growers continued to make up for lost planting time in the past week. The report shows that 90% of the U.S. cotton crop is now planted – up 19% from a week ago and 1% above the 5-year average for mid-June.

In all, planting totals in 11 cotton producing states are ahead of their respective 5-year averages. The biggest percentage increases came from Texas (up 28%), Oklahoma (up 16%), and Louisiana (up 14%).

Squaring is now reported in 13% of the crop – just 3% behind average – with Arizona, Kansas, Missouri, and Tennessee all slightly ahead of schedule.

There was a shift in Crop Condition numbers this week, with 45% of the U.S. crop rated good/excellent, 46% fair, and only 9% rated poor/very poor. Recent weather issues bumped the poor ratings up in Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas, while Texas saw an 11% positive swing back into fair to excellent territory.