USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) has released its 2020 planted acreage reports. Chris Hawthorn, field crops section head with NASS in Washington D.C., says cotton acreage across the country is down 11% from last year.
In Alabama, growers planted 470,000 acres of cotton this year, down from the 540,000 last year. In Florida, 95,000 acres of cotton were planted, down from 112,00 acres in 2019. In Georgia producers planted 1,230,000 acres of cotton, down from the 1.4 million acres last year.
Growers planted 12.2 million acres in 2020, down 11% from last year. Upland area is estimated at 12.0 million acres, down 11% from 2019. American Pima area is estimated at 195,000 acres, down 15%t from 2019.
Compared with last year, Upland planted area declined in 15 of the 17 major cotton?producing States. The largest decline is in Texas, where Upland planted acreage decreased 450,000 acres from last year. Acreage declines of more than 100,000 acres also occurred in Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina. Demand for cotton has declined due to increased supply and lower prices. The only state showing an increase compared with last year is Kansas where acreage increased 20,000 acres from last year to a record-high 195,000 acres.
In California, low cotton prices and decreased water availability impacted planting decisions for the 2020 cotton crop. Compared with last year, planted acreage of Upland cotton is down 14,000 acres to a record low, and planted area for American Pima cotton is down 39,000 acres. In Texas, extremely high winds, reportedly blowing at more than 40 mph for extended periods of time, caused blowing sand to scorch fields in several counties earlier this month.
By June 21, 96% of the Nation’s acreage had been planted, two percentage points ahead of last year’s pace but equal to the 5?year average. As of June 21, 27% of the acreage was squaring, equal to last year’s pace but one percentage point ahead of the 5?year average. At that time, 40% of the acreage was rated in good to excellent condition, compared with 50% rated in these two categories at the same time last year.
In summary, area planted to cotton in the United States is estimated at 12.2 million acres in 2020, down 11% from last year.