Cotton Acreage Down on Regional, State, and National Level

Cotton acreage across the high plains has dropped from last year.

4.15 million acres of High Plains land were planted to cotton in 2012, a 9.1 percent decrease from 2011’s 4.57 million acres, according to Cotton News, the newsletter of Plains Cotton Growers, Inc.

A majority of the change occurred in the northern portion of Plains Cotton Growers’ service area, where acreage dropped 23 percent.

The group says that overall progress of this year’s cotton crop is better than 2011, but hail and high winds caused problems for some cotton growers in the region.

The numbers across Texas for cotton acreage have also decreased, with the United States Department of Agriculture reporting 6.8 million acres of cotton being planted in 2012, which is a 4.2 percent decrease from 2011.

Nationwide numbers show a decline as well, dropping 14 percent from 2011.

More information is available at www.plainscotton.org.