By Justin Walker
Communications Specialist
Production and yield values of upland cotton have risen in the Lone Star State from the previous year, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Texas farmers produced 9.5 million bales of upland cotton in 2017, up 17 percent from the previous year. Yield averaged 786 pounds per acre, compared to 748 pounds per acre in 2016.
The Southern High Plains region is estimated to have produced 3.34 million bales in 2017, the most from a single district in the state of Texas. It is down seven percent from last year’s production numbers, though.
At 697 pounds per acre, the district’s average yield is up 30 pounds. An estimated 2.3 million acres is expected for harvest in 2017.
The Northern High Plains district saw an increased in production numbers, up 46 percent from last year at 2.23 million bales. The average yield, however, is down 69 pounds from 2016, totaling 927 pounds per acre.
The 9.5 million bales of upland cotton produced in the Lone Star State accounted for almost 46 percent of all upland cotton production in the United States.
The national production totals came out to more than 20.7 million bales in 2017, with an average yield of 891 pounds per acre. Both production and yield numbers increased nationally.