AMARILLO, TEXAS -- The AgriLife Extension office recently released the latest crop report for the state of Texas, which largely focused on the cotton crop.
According to the report, recent rains slowed or halted the cotton harvest across the Texas Panhandle, South Plains and Rolling Plains, however, those rains are not expected to adversely affect yields.
Dr. Todd Baughman, an AgriLife Extension agronomist based in Vernon said, "with the weather looking like it does, things should clear out and we should be able to get going again pretty quickly."
Many are still waiting for a killing frost to get into the fields, Baughman said that "typically we'd already had our first freeze by this time, and we'd already had a lot of this cotton sprayed (with desiccants)." That's just one of the reasons Baughman said the cotton harvest is running a little late.
While yields have been all over the board, the agronomist said he expected the yields to be above-average on dry land cotton. Baughman added he believed the area will be in the 300-400 pound range, but noted some fields are going to be way above average. That, partnered with the high cotton prices could be good for the Texas Panhandle.
Local economist, Karr Ingham, said "The crop that is being ginned right now will be by far the highest valued crop on record. It's a big deal for the South Plains, and the Panhandle. We happen to be the beneficiaries of global events that are raising the price of cotton."
Ingham also cautioned that higher commodity prices will ultimately lead to higher prices for consumers.
"In most parts of the country, it raises concerns about the price of fiber for making products. In our case those prices are very economically stimulating."
In the South Plains, fields dried out fast which allowed the cotton harvest to continue, officials continue to give high marks to the cotton that has come in.
A few isolated fields of corn are still waiting to be harvested, wheat is reported to be in poor to good condition. Most counties, however, report wheat to be in the poor to fair range. Cattle are also reported to be in good condition throughout the Panhandle.
