Crop Progress: Positive Crop Uptick for Cotton

By Jim Steadman|August 29, 2022

Based on the USDA Crop Progress report for the week ending Aug. 28, overall cotton condition showed a slight uptick to the positive side.

The report showed that 36% of the crop is rated good/excellent (31% last week), 30% fair (29% last week), and 36% poor/very poor (40% a week ago). In all, 11 states have good/excellent ratings above 50%, led by California (95%), Arizona (88%), Virginia (84%), and South Carolina (79%).

Boll set is now reported 94% of the crop – up 6 percentage points in the past week and 3 points above the 5-year average for this week. Twelve states are currently ahead of their respective averages.

Percentage of open bolls climbed 9 percentage points to 28% – still 4 points ahead of the average. The highest percentage gains in the past week came from Arizona (up 21 points), Mississippi and Virginia (both up 16 points), and Arkansas (up 12 points). In all, 7 states are rated higher than their respective averages.