USDA: 10 Million Cotton Acres Planted in 2016

USDA’s first acreage report for 2016 shows that U.S. cotton growers have planted 10 million acres in 2016 – a 17% increase above last year.

The report – issued on June 30 – estimated upland cotton acres at 9.82 million acres (17% above 2015) and 199,000 acres of Pima cotton (26% above 2015). The numbers show a significant jump in planting over USDA’s projected plantings number of 9.56 million acres in March.

Thirteen of the 17 cotton-producing states surveyed showed acreage increases for this year. Only North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia reported reduced cotton acres. New Mexico cotton acres remained steady from 2015 to 2016.