Farm Progress

Two districts produce bulk of Texas cottonWeather plays key role in 2016 harvested acreageSouth Texas  completes harvest 

Ron Smith 1, Senior Content Director

August 17, 2016

2 Min Read
<p>As the West Texas cotton crop moves toward maturity, production estimates tag statewide harvest at 6.3 million bales.</p>

Two Texas cotton districts will produce more than 60 percent of the state’s 2016 cotton crop, according to recent USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) estimates.  Statewide production is estimated at 6.3 million bales from 5.5 million planted acres and 5.1 million harvested acres.  Production in 2015 totaled 5.72 million bales. Average yield is estimated to be 593 pounds per acre, down from 610 pounds last year.

District 12, the Southern High Plains, is expected to harvest 2.83 million bales of cotton from 2.77 million acres. That production figure is down from last year’s 3.066 million-bale crop. Planted acreage is up slightly, from 2.648 million last year. Harvested acreage is estimated to be 2.565 million acres compared to 2.458 last year. Average yield estimate is off, 530 pounds per acre compared to 599 last year.

District 11, the Northern High Plains, which includes the top tier of the Panhandle, will produce 1.24 million bales from 820,000 planted acres. That’s up from last year’s 465,000 planted acres, according to NASS estimates. Anticipated harvested acreage is 760,000, compared to last year’s 427,800. District 11 harvested 731,500 bales in 2015. Average yield is estimated to be 783 pounds per acre compared to 821 pounds last year.

WEATHER ISSUES

Next highest production will come from District 82, estimated to harvest 460,000 bales with an average yield of 883 pounds per acre. That’s up slightly from last year’s 862 pound average. Planted acreage increased from 118,700 to 265,000 and harvested acreage is expected to be 250,000 versus 112,000 last year. District 82 is the Coastal Bend, which was restricted by heavy rainfall in 2015. Production last year was 201,000 bales. More favorable growing conditions this year allowed a significant jump in harvested acreage.

With an anticipated harvest of 385,000 bales, District 21, the Northern Low Plains, should be the fourth largest producer. Planted acreage for the district is 410,000, down from 417,000 last year. Harvested acreage is also slightly off, 385,000 compared to 391,800 in 2015. Yield per acre is expected to be 480 pounds, off from 583 pounds last year.

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District 22, the Southern Low Plains, also planted fewer acres, 530,000 compared to 547,200 in 2015. Anticipated harvest is 330,000 bales from 475,000 harvested acres. Yield estimate is 333 pounds per acre, off from 381 pounds last year.

Other production estimates include: District 40, the Blacklands,120,000 bales; District 70, Edwards Plateau, 225,000 bales; District 81, South Central, 90,000 bales; District 90, Upper Coast, 190,000 bales; District 97,Lower Valley, 255,000 bales; and other districts will produce an estimated 175,000 bales.

About the Author(s)

Ron Smith 1

Senior Content Director, Farm Press/Farm Progress

Ron Smith has spent more than 40 years covering Sunbelt agriculture. Ron began his career in agricultural journalism as an Experiment Station and Extension editor at Clemson University, where he earned a Masters Degree in English in 1975. He served as associate editor for Southeast Farm Press from 1978 through 1989. In 1990, Smith helped launch Southern Turf Management Magazine and served as editor. He also helped launch two other regional Turf and Landscape publications and launched and edited Florida Grove and Vegetable Management for the Farm Press Group. Within two years of launch, the turf magazines were well-respected, award-winning publications. Ron has received numerous awards for writing and photography in both agriculture and landscape journalism. He is past president of The Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association and was chosen as the first media representative to the University of Georgia College of Agriculture Advisory Board. He was named Communicator of the Year for the Metropolitan Atlanta Agricultural Communicators Association. More recently, he was awarded the Norman Borlaug Lifetime Achievement Award by the Texas Plant Protection Association. Smith also worked in public relations, specializing in media relations for agricultural companies. Ron lives with his wife Pat in Johnson City, Tenn. They have two grown children, Stacey and Nick, and three grandsons, Aaron, Hunter and Walker.

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