By Maegan Beatty
As planting season looms across Alabama, the state’s cotton farmers are preparing for what could be a pivotal year for its industry.
Cotton remains one of Alabama’s leading row crops, and projections for the upcoming season are drawing close attention from producers, analysts and local communities alike. Scott Graham, an Extension cotton entomologist with Auburn University, offers insight into this year’s projected crop outlook.
“As of the most recent USDA prospective plants report, Alabama is expected to plant 360,000 acres of cotton in 2025. This number will be a moving target as we go through the end of May or early June. If this number is correct, I think this means we will have likely had more cotton planted in north Alabama this year, and potentially parts of central Alabama,” Graham said, “Depending on where growers in central or south Alabama are, grains are difficult due to logistics and the cost of trucking to an elevator.”
Acres/Plantings
As for overall acreage, Graham says Alabama is expected to be down around 10% of cotton acres in the upcoming year. Planting should commence around April 20 for a small number of the acres. Normally, cotton planting in the area starts during the first week of May and wraps up by early June.
Graham recommends growers give their attention to the small details in order to avoid major mistakes.
“With the cost of seed, we want to make sure we only plant what is needed to achieve a good stand. Growers should not forget the importance of soil residual herbicides since we have lost dicamba as a tool for weed management. With all crop protection materials this year, timeliness will be the most important factor. The best way to maximize the timeliness of inputs is to have a trained scout or consultant walking fields weekly from planting to cutout to provide detailed reports on pest pressure and what pests are at treatment thresholds,” Graham said.