As the U.S. cotton crop moves closer to harvest, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released its August cotton crop progress and condition report. According to USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey, the crop is developing at a slightly slower pace than average, with regional differences and weather-related stress impacting progress.
“Taking a look at the cotton crop, we did pass the one-quarter mark on cotton bolls opening during the week to reach 28% at the end of August, two points behind the five-year average of 30%, a little further behind last year’s 35%,” Rippey explained.
The progress of bolls opening varies significantly across production regions. “We see a pretty wide range, as we expect to, with 8% of the bolls opening in Missouri, all the way up to 67% in Arizona. Top producer, Texas, 28% opening versus the five-year average of 32%,” Rippey noted.
While some areas are moving steadily toward harvest, the condition of the cotton crop has taken a modest hit in recent weeks. “Cotton condition also taking a small hit during the week ending August 31st, now 51% good to excellent, down three points from last week, 13% very poor to poor, that’s actually no change from last week,” Rippey said.
Despite the dip in condition ratings, this year’s crop is faring better than last season. “And that’s still, even with that drop, compares favorably to last year’s numbers when the cotton crop was just 44% good to excellent and 24% very poor to poor,” he added.
However, weather continues to play a critical role in crop health. “Flash drought also having an impact in some of the northern cotton production areas in the Delta. Tennessee, for example, leads the nation at the end of August with 29% of the cotton rated very poor to poor,” Rippey reported.
As the 2025 cotton harvest nears, growers are closely watching how drought conditions and boll development will impact final yields across key states like Texas, Arizona, and Tennessee.
Audio Reporting by Dale Sandlin for Southeast AgNet.