Crop Progress: Still Behind Schedule but On Track Toward Harvest

By Jim Steadman|September 27, 2021

The 2021 U.S. cotton crop still appears to be running about two weeks behind schedule, based on numbers from USDA’s Crop Progress report for the week ending Sept. 26.

Open bolls are now reported in 60% of the total crop – up 12 percentage points in the past week. That’s a strong move nationally, but still 4 percentage points behind the 5-year average for this date. State percentage growth ranged from 1% up to 20%, led by Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, North Carolina, and Georgia. In all, five states are currently at or above their respective 5-year averages.

Harvest reports continue to grow, but at a much slower rate. USDA says 11% of the U.S. crop is now harvested – up 2 percentage points in the past week. Harvest activity is reported in 11 states with double digit percentages seen only in Texas, Arizona, and Louisiana.

Crop condition continues its streak of consistency. The report shows that 65% of the U.S. crop is now rated good/excellent, 29% fair, and only 6% rated poor/very poor.