Farmers are anticipated to harvest the smallest U.S. cotton crop since 2009.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) monthly Crop Production report, the crop is forecast to drop to 12.6 million bales, down 28% from last year’s 17.5 million bales.

Texas is leading the nearly 5-million-bale decrease due to drought conditions.

Farmers in Texas this year are forecast to harvest 2.9 million bales compared to 7.7 million bales last year.

Yields for the top cotton-producing state are predicted to average 634 pounds per harvested acre, down 32 pounds from 2021.

All cotton area harvested is forecast at 2.2 million acres, down 3.4 million from 2021.

Upland cotton production is forecast at 2.9 million bales, down 4.8 million from 2021. Pima cotton production is forecast at 34,000 bales, up 8,000 from 2021.

Drought conditions have been so poor in Texas that cotton farmers are expected to abandon two out of every three acres planted in the spring. USDA said the abandonment rates would be “historically high.”

The small cotton crop will impact more than farmers.

“Reduced production from this year’s cotton crop will not only impact farmers who are already facing a challenging time due to drought and high input costs but will also have an impact on the local economies that rely on cotton,” Brant Wilbourn, Texas Farm Bureau associate director of Commodity and Regulatory Activities, said. “As less cotton is produced, downstream users—such as gins, warehouses and shippers—will oversee less cotton. That will lead to a loss of economic activity.”

Read the full Crop Production report here.