Agricultural News
Plains Cotton Growers Mark Brown Discusses This Year's Cotton Crop Condition
Thu, 08 Jul 2021 08:04:27 CDT
As the summer progress and cotton continues squaring and setting bolls across the nation, blooming is right around the corner.
Associate Farm Director, KC Sheperd, caught up with Plains Cotton Growers director of field services, Mark Brown, who said, "Right now, our crop looks good here in the high plains of Texas. I understand from the visits I have had that the crop looks good in Oklahoma and Kansas as well."
This is quite the turnaround compared to the bleak, drought-ridden land that caused an initial delay, Brown said.
Brown reports that rain did quench the drought, specifically in June where most of the Texas high plains received quality rainfall.
Consequently, weeds have been an issue for their producers, he said. The moisture served as a catalyst for weed growth, and herbicides have been difficult to locate due to the change in the supply chain, Brown added.
"Though we are 10 days to two-weeks behind what we would like to see out here, we are not really far behind as far as the crop growth status," Brown said.
Brown said he believes they could overcome with the right moisture and temperature conditions through the remainder of the season.
A rather critical component in pre-bloom time into peak time is nitrogen.
"As we look at the water use curve which peaks out a peak bloom, you can overlay the nitrogen use curve onto that and it is almost a perfect match," Brown said.
What we know is important, he said, is that during the first two weeks of bloom, that crop is going to use between 25 and 40 percent of the total seasonal nitrogen use. So, it is important to have that available to the plant when it need it, he added.
Producers are currently trying to get crops fertilized, ideally by the second week of bloom which is critical from early squaring into peak bloom, Brown said.
In terms of prices, Brown said he is pleased and hopeful for the rest of season.
He said prices are in between 85 and 88 cents with the demand for cotton remaining strong.
"We finally have a crop in place and although we are a long way from harvest and we still face a lot of challenges, the prices look decent," Brown said. "We are optimistic producers will be able to get some decent prices this year.
Brown added the recent acreage report was fairly stable and even down slightly across the U.S. The June acreage estimate report from the USDA concluded approximately 11.6 million acres have been planted thus far.
He reported Texas is currently pegged for 6.7 million acres of production with Kansas and Oklahoma at 120,00 acres and 490,000 acres, respectively.
As the summer progresses, Brown said to be mindful of July 15, the Crop Acreage Certification deadline.
This certification is critical from a crop insurance standpoint, Brown said, so he advises producers to work toward its completion and contact their Farm Service Agency office to ensure they will make the deadline.
As producers continue to watch their crop, Brown said the most important thing is looking at fertilizer for early blooms and applying plant growth regulators if necessary.
"We still have a long way to go before we get this crop off the stalk, but things look good right now and we are going to continue to hope for the best for all of our cotton producers."
To hear more from KC and Mark Brown, click or tap below.
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