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USDA forecasts more cotton acres as prices rise—but drought could affect the crop
The USDA says there will be an increase in cotton plantings this spring, higher than some were expecting.
Jody Campiche with the National Cotton Council says a boost in cotton prices likely helped.
“The NCC did our survey back in mid-December to mid-January. At that time, growers said they were going to plant 9 million acres, which is basically about the same as last year. Since that time, cotton prices have increased by about 7.2 percent. They were at about 69 cents per pound. Now they’re at 74 cents per pound.”
USDA says upland cotton acres are expected to be 9.5 million acres, up 4 percent from last year.
There are some declines expected in some cotton producing states. Arkansas cotton acres are expected to decline 10 percent, and Kansas cotton acres are expected to decline 2 percent. There are also some increases, with Missouri cotton acres expected to increase 1 percent. Tennessee is expected to plant 22 percent more cotton this spring.
Acreage can always change as the growing season continues. Campiche the widespread drought across the Cotton Belt is one unknown.
“I think we could be looking at higher abandonment this next year because, if you look at overall abandonment for Texas and for the U.S., all that to say is if we come in with higher abandonment, it doesn’t really matter that we increase acreage by 4 percent. We’ll still likely not harvest as much as we did last year.”
She says higher production costs can also weigh on cotton planting decisions.
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