All cotton production is forecast at 12.8 million 480-pound bales, down 2 percent from the previous forecast and down 12 percent from 2022. Based on conditions as of December 1, yields are expected to average 765 pounds per harvested acre, down 18 pounds from the previous forecast and down 185 pounds from 2022. All cotton area harvested is forecast at 8.02 million acres, unchanged from the previous forecast but up 10 percent from 2022.
By November 26, eighty?three percent of the Nation’s cotton acreage was harvested, equal to last year but 4 percent ahead of the 5?year average. During the week ending November 26, cotton harvest advanced 10 percent or more in Georgia, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Virginia.
In Alabama, production is estimated at 710,000 bales, down 15 percent from 2022.
Florida production is expected to total 100,000 bales, 39 percent below the previous year.
Cotton production in Georgia is forecast at 2.35 million bales, down 11 percent from last year.