In its December report, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) made a large reduction to the 2019 cotton crop. The report noted that U.S. cotton production is forecast at 20.2 million 480-pound bales, down 3 percent from the previous forecast. Most of the more than 600,000 bale reduction was in the Texas crop. But, National Cotton Council (NCC) Vice President of Economics and Policy Analysis, Dr. Jody Campiche, notes that is still higher than last year’s crop.
The December report did show that cotton production in Georgia is now forecast at 2.6 million bales, up 33 percent from last year. In Alabama, production is forecast at 1.1 million bales, up 24 percent from 2018. Florida production is expected to total 205,000 bales, almost double last year.