Mid-South cotton crop in good shape
Jun 25, 2008 10:53 AM,
By Elton Robinson
Farm Press Editorial Staff
Warm weather has given a welcome boost to the Mid-South cotton crop, according to the USDA weekly report on crop progress through June 22.
Tennessee reported 83 percent of its crop in good to excellent condition, followed by Louisiana, 71 percent, Mississippi 70 percent, Missouri, 66 percent, and Arkansas, 61 percent.
Cotton crops in the nation’s two largest-producing states continued to suffer, however, according to USDA — 38 percent of the Texas crop was in poor to very poor condition. In the second biggest cotton-producing state, Georgia, 14 percent of the crop was in poor to very poor condition. These two states comprise about 60 percent of the nation’s cotton acreage.
About 47 percent of the nation’s cotton crop was in good to excellent condition.
USDA reported 59 percent of the nation’s corn crop in good to excellent condition, a slight improvement over the previous week. According to USDA, 11 percent of the nation’s corn crop was in poor to very poor condition. Crop conditions in flood-affected states of Iowa and Indiana were unchanged to slightly better from the previous week, with 15 percent of the crops in poor to very poor condition.
Ninety-one percent of the nation’s soybean crop had been planted, according to USDA, although many Mid-South states were lagging behind. Planting was essentially complete in Louisiana and Mississippi. Arkansas had planted 84 percent of its intended acres, compared to a five-year average of 93 percent. Tennessee had planted 85 percent of its acreage, a little under its five-year average of 88 percent,
In Wisconsin, Indiana and Iowa, the percentage of the soybean crop in poor to very poor condition was 17 percent, 14 percent and 14 percent respectively.
USDA reported that 22 percent of the nation’s winter wheat crop had been harvested by the week ending June 22. Arkansas had harvested 85 percent of its wheat crop, compared to 92 percent at the same time last year and a five-year average of 83 percent.
e-mail: erobinson@farmpress.com
