# Crop Progress: Cotton Planting Storms Ahead

Author: Jim Steadman
Published: 2023-05-15
Canonical URL: https://www.cottongrower.com/cotton-production/planting/crop-progress-cotton-planting-storms-ahead/

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And we don’t mean rain storms – although cotton growers welcomed a few timely, well placed rain events in the past week. Regardless of your state, it was an impressive week for planting.

The [USDA Crop Progress report for the week ending May 14](https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/8336h188j/3j334h59d/rv0447030/prog1923.pdf) shows that 35% of the U.S. crop has now been planted – up 13 percentage points in the past week and just a tick shy of the 5-year average for this date.

Planters were rolling with urgency, resulting in some big jumps in acreage covered. In the past week, Kansas showed a 32-point increase, up to 35%. Other big movers included Missouri (up 29 points to 69%), Louisiana (up 27 points to 67%), Tennessee (also up 27 points to 42%), Arkansas (up 26 points to 56%), and Alabama (up 21 points to 51%).

All cotton producing states are now in double digit percentages for planting, ranging from 16% in Oklahoma to 90% for California. In all, eight states are currently on or above their respective 5-year planting averages for mid-May.