Published: August 18, 2008 04:13 pm            

Cotton production expected to drop

New Orleans — (AP) — U.S. cotton production is expected to drop to 13.8 million bales, the lowest level since 1989, after farmers planted fewer acres in favor of higher-priced crops and severe weather took a toll.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in a report released Tuesday, said planted acreage has declined from 10.8 million acres in 2007 to 9.2 million this year. The decline has been further compounded by Texas growers, affected by drought and Hurricane Dolly, abandoning a huge chunk of their crop, 1.3 million acres.

Since farmers brought in 23.9 million bales in 2005, the country’s total cotton production has fallen steadily. Only three states, Alabama, Oklahoma and Virginia, are expected to see increases in production this year, based on Aug. 1 conditions, the report says. Production in South Carolina is expected to be unchanged.

Texas leads the major cotton producing states expecting steep declines. Production there is forecast to fall from 8.3 million bales last year to 5.2 million this year.

In Louisiana, production is expected to reach 540,000 bales, the lowest level in 25 years. The projected yield of 909 pounds an acre, may be a bit optimistic, given the recent dry weather in the state’s cotton belt, said Jess Barr, executive vice president of the Louisiana Cotton Growers Association.

He said he’s hopeful that apparently tightening supplies could push up the price for the costly-to-produce, labor-intensive crop — and boost production next year.

Last year, high corn prices helped fuel a switch from cotton acreage in Louisiana. This year, high soybean and rice prices “contributed to the all-time low in cotton acreage planted in the state,” said Nathan Crisp, director of Louisiana’s branch of the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Louisiana farmers planted just 290,000 acres of cotton, 45,000 fewer than a year earlier.

Nationwide, rice production is expected to rise to 204.9 million hundredweight, with all the major producing states, except California, anticipating larger crops.

        

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