By Jessica Domel
Multimedia Editor
Cotton is once again king in Texas. Farmers are expected to plant at least 17 percent more upland cotton this year, according to the June Acreage Report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
Texas farmers are forecast to plant around 6.6 million acres of upland cotton and about 17,000 acres of Pima cotton. Pima cotton acreage is unchanged from last year.
Low cost, a global glut and disease have led to a smaller wheat harvest in Texas this year. NASS reports 4.7 million acres were planted. That’s six percent lower than last year.
About 2.5 million acres were harvested. That’s down 11 percent over last year.
Corn acres are also expected to be down. Farmers report they intend to plant around 2.4 million acres. That’s down 17 percent. About 2.1 million acres have been harvested, which is down 18 percent over this time last year.
Nearly 1.8 million acres of grain sorghum will likely be planted in Texas this year. That’s down five percent. Farmers are expected to harvest around 1.6 million acres, which is down nine percent over last year.
Rice acreage also decreased. Farmers planted about 185,000 acres. That’s down five percent over last year.
Soybean acres are up three percent in Texas this year to 170,000 acres.
There will be 30 percent fewer acres of sunflowers this year. NASS estimates 32,000 acres are planted.
Peanuts are forecast down 34 percent at 200,000 acres.
Dry beans are down seven percent to 25,000 acres.
Oats are also down. NASS reports 400,000 acres are expected, which is down 15 percent over last year.
The NASS June Acreage Report uses average estimates based largely on surveys conducted the first two weeks of June.
Farmers are contacted in person, by mail, telephone or the Internet.
The surveys are based on a probability area frame survey with a sample of more than 1,400 segments of land in the Southern Plains Region—both in Texas and Oklahoma.
The full report can be found here: http://bit.ly/2sv6MQs.