Cotton planting is on pace for 2017, just one point behind the five-year average in the nation’s top cotton producing states, according to the USDA.
Planting is picking up in Perryton, Tx. where producer Ryan Johnson has been rolling his planter since mid-May. He says the area has seen rain and snow in the last 60 days since the wildfires rolled through the area, but the excess moisture may entice farmers to grow more cotton.
“The ones switching last minute are going to be cotton guys,” said Johnson. “They may say now that we have more moisture it’s worth a try. Guys who haven’t grown cotton before are looking at it as an opportunity with subsoil moisture to raise some dryland cotton.”
Gin managers in the Texas Panhandle are preparing and expecting an increase in cotton acres this season as well.
“This has been a phenomenal year for moisture—deep moisture—the kind of moisture we can plant cotton and expect to make a crop,” said Jerrell Key, general manager at the Adobe Walls Gin in Spearman, Tx.
Key says he credits the potential increase in cotton acres due to price, weather, and last year’s record crop in the Panhandle.
