As cotton harvest 2025 continues across the southern U.S., USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey shared a timely update on crop development and field progress as of September 21.
“60 percent of the U.S. cotton bowls open, one point ahead of the five-year average, but two points behind last year at this time. Some of the earlier delays that we saw in the Mississippi Delta are long gone. Crop development has generally reached or now exceeded the typical five-year average pace.”
The USDA reports that the cotton harvest is now 12 percent complete, exactly on pace with the five-year average. Dry, hot conditions helped accelerate progress in several southern states.
“Meanwhile, the cotton harvest 12 percent complete by September 21st. Five-year average is also 12 percent, and we saw some nice progress across the south with some hot, dry weather. Arizona, for example, despite a few scattered showers, advancing from 5 to 19 percent harvested during the week.”
In Texas, the nation’s top cotton-producing state, progress remains steady—although slightly behind last year’s numbers.
“Meanwhile, top producer Texas, we just about finished with the harvest in the deep south and the coastal areas, so kind of a slowdown in harvest progress while we wait for the big west Texas cotton crop to come along. So Texas now at 23 percent harvested, slightly behind last year’s 25 percent.”
Cotton condition ratings showed a decline nationally, mostly due to changing perceptions in Texas. Good-to-excellent ratings dropped five percentage points, while very poor-to-poor ratings rose by four points.
“We did see a bit of a change in the overall cotton condition, but you can mostly blame that on Texas. Nationally, good to excellent ratings, 47 percent good to excellent. That is down five percentage points from last week, 18 percent very poor to poor. That is up four points, but once again, you can pin that on Texas, which saw a large week-over-week change in perceived condition. Last week, 47 percent good to excellent. This week, 41 percent.”
Still, overall, this year’s U.S. cotton crop is faring better than in 2024, offering cautious optimism as harvest season continues.
Audio Reporting by Dale Sandlin for Southeast AgNet.