Crop Progress: First Reports of Harvest

Harvest moves into the USDA Crop Progress report this week (ending Sept. 11), but certainly not in robust numbers. The report shows that 8% of the overall U.S. cotton crop has been harvested among three states – Texas (17%), Louisiana (2%), and South Carolina (1%). It’s a start.

Open bolls are now reported in 49% of the U.S. crop – up 10 percentage points in the past week and 8 points ahead of the 5-year average. In all, eight states – California, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia – are ahead of their respective 5-year averages.

Crop condition remains a 3-way split: 33% good/excellent, 30% fair, and 37% poor/very poor. A closer look at the numbers, however, show that the cotton crops in 13 states show good/excellent ratings of 50% or higher.