Agricultural News
OSU's Seth Byrd Wraps Up Oklahoma's 2021 Cotton Harvest
Tue, 14 Dec 2021 11:00:44 CST
Oklahoma's 2021 cotton harvest is officially over, according to Seth Byrd, agronomist and extension specialist with Oklahoma State University. Much of what cotton farmers and experts were worried about in the growing season turned out alright.
"One of the things we talked about being an issue was Micronaires," Byrd said. "That was a conversation that was going on in July and August when we were still worried about our maturity."
A slow, wet start to the beginning of the season was corrected by an ideal, dry end to the season, according to Byrd. According to reports so far, most of Oklahoma's 2021 cotton crop's Micronaires are falling into either premium or better categories, he added.
Another concern folks had was cotton leaf grade, Byrd said.
"All year, we have talked a lot about leaf grade and defoliation," Byrd said. "That has been a fear, but the majority of leaf grades coming in now are between two and three."
So far, about 13% of cotton bales are classified as grade four, which Byrd said is not bad.
"At this point in the season, we may see leaf grade start to increase as we start getting to more of those fields that maybe had some regrowth or leaves frozen onto them," Byrd said. "But if we are sitting at an average of where we are now, we are not really concerned with leaves."
According to Byrd, everywhere that needed a freeze in Oklahoma, got one. Opposite of last year, most areas of the state did not get a true freeze until December, he added.
From a global perspective, Byrd said labor shortages and supply chain issues are affecting the cotton industry.
"Certainly, the cotton industry is not immune to any of the issues production agriculture is facing right now," Byrd said. "Ginning is such a seasonal business, especially in a year like this - it is not a big year, but we have a lot of cotton out there that needs to be ginned."
On the bright side, Byrd said by now, much of Oklahoma's cotton is stored and weatherproof to last the gin queue.
Hit the LISTEN BAR below to hear KC Sheperd and Dr. Seth Byrd talk about Oklahoma's 2021 cotton crop and what farmers should be doing now to prepare for next year's crop.
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