Crop Progress: Cotton Progress and Concerns

By Jim Steadman|June 27, 2022

The U.S. cotton crop continues to make progress as squaring and boll set move ahead. But there’s real concern about this year’s crop in multiple geographies.

According to USDA’s Crop Progress report for the week ending June 27, 33% of the crop is squaring. That’s up 11 percentage points in the past week and right on the 5-year average for this date. Seven states are now at or above their respective 5-year averages, with the biggest weekly gains reported in Arkansas, Missouri, Alabama, Arizona, Mississippi, Georgia, and South Carolina.

Boll set is now reported in 8% of the U.S. crop – up two percentage points and just one point ahead of the 5-year average. Biggest weekly gains came from Louisiana, Virginia, and Arizona.

Overall cotton condition continues to deteriorate, following a week of extreme heat across the Cotton Belt. This week, USDA rates 37% of the crop good/excellent (down three percentage points), 33% rated fair (down one point), and 30% rated poor/very poor (up 4 points). Among state numbers, 46% of the Texas crop is now rated poor/very poor, followed by Tennessee (20%), Mississippi (18%), North Carolina (15%), and South Carolina and Missouri (both 14%).