Fall Weather Across Mid-South Helps Cotton Producers Mature Crop
Weather across mid-south is contributing to near-record cotton yields
A recent Delta Farm Press article reports fall weather across the mid-south is helping cotton producers reach near-record yields.
Rain was reportedly holding up cotton picking in much of the central to lower mid-south, but crops are responding well to drier weather as the harvest gets underway. According to LSU AgCenter Extension cotton specialist David Kerns, fewer overall acres (128,000 acres) in Louisiana have pushed cotton to better soils and are driving some of the good yields. “From what I hear is being delivered to the gin, yields look outstanding,” he says.
In Mississippi, producers had picked 40-50% of the cotton crop before the harvest was interrupted by rainfall in mid-October. “It seems like we would have a five- or six-day harvest window, and then a rain would keep us out for a few days,” says Mississippi Extension cotton specialist Darrin Dodds. Dodds notes, however, that smaller acreage in Mississippi should allow producers to complete the harvest within three to four weeks.
While Northeast Arkansas has had several weeks of cloudy, rainy weather, Tom Barber, extension cotton specialist for the state, says the cotton crop has remained consistent. “We had a lot of dryland and irrigated fields yielding the same in some areas. That means we had plenty of moisture, and we didn’t spend a lot of money pumping water,” he adds.
Cotton specialists can’t yet say whether this year’s yields will break records but they note there is a strong possibility of it.