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Texas crop and weather report - Focus on cotton
College Station, Texas
September 7, 2005


Mother Nature may bring hurricanes and hail storms, but Texas cotton producers must still harvest their crop, say experts from
Texas Cooperative Extension.

Dr. Randal Boman, Extension agronomist in Lubbock, said while High Plains producers anticipate a good  production year, they haven't yet harvested their crop.

Roger Haldenby, vice president of operations for the Plains Cotton Growers in Lubbock, said as far as harvest is  concerned, producers can't afford not to harvest.

"The high cost of diesel fuel for harvesting equipment, tractors, module builders, module trucks, and the overall cost of energy for gins," he said, "all mean that the profit margin for growers is diminished even further."
 
Jay Yates, Extension risk management specialist in Lubbock, said producers are expecting cost increases. A $2 to $2.50 per bale increase for harvest fuel is anticipated, he said, "as well as an increase in the cost of ginning and associated module hauling and bale hauling of $15 to $20 per bale."

Boman attributed the increased cost to a decrease in refinery capacity caused by Hurricane Katrina. Jose Pena, Extension economist in Uvalde, said the increased production costs haven't reached consumers yet.

"On the surface it would appear that prices [of cotton] would rise, but I have been carefully watching the futures market and prices are down," he said. "It appears to me that the market is off because, prior to Katrina hitting shore, the projected path indicated that very little cotton would be exposed to the storm's east, or more intense, side. This estimation was probably accurate.

"The region of hurricane influence was estimated to produce about 5.15 million bales of the estimated 20.566 million bales of upland cotton ... Texas is expected to produce about 6.1 million bales," he said.

Mississippi and Georgia were predicted to produce 4.15 million bales, Pena said, and Louisiana predictions were 1 million bales.

"While U.S. production is down about 2 million bales from last year's record crop," he said, "20.566 million bales is a lot of cotton."

According to http://cotton.tamu.edu/funfacts.htm, one bale of cotton can make 215 pairs of jeans, 1,256 pillowcases or 313,600 hundred-dollar bills.

"The only recent damage to the crop," Pena said, "is about 100,000 acres damaged to last weekend's hail in the Lubbock area." Boman said, "We continue to get good rainfall, but unfortunately, many times hail is associated with these thunderstorms. [Hail] affected areas included Parmer, Bailey, Hockley, Lubbock, Lynn and Garza counties." Prior to the storm, 3.4 million acres of cotton stood in the High Plains, he said.

"We have had a good-to-excellent year thus far," Boman said. "Some thrips pressure was noted early, particularly north of Lubbock, and now we have some bollworms and fall armyworms show up at this time. This will increase expenses for spraying these pests." Other commodities will be economically influenced by Hurricane Katrina as well, Yates said. 
 
"On corn harvest, the custom harvesters won't quote price until they pull into the field, but most estimates are for an increase of $20 to $25 per acre," he said. "Grain sorghum harvest will probably follow suit." Producers aren't the only ones who will feel the pinch of higher harvest costs, Haldenby said.

"The high prices for fuel affect all aspects of agriculture, and all aspects of everyone else's everyday life," he said. "The high prices of transportation will eventually make their way into what consumers pay for the end product."

The following livestock, crop and weather conditions were reported by Extension districts:

PANHANDLE: Soil moisture is short to adequate. Temperatures were cooler. Scattered showers were reported. Corn was 15 percent mature. Silage harvest continued. Cotton was rated fair to good. Bolls began to open. Insecticides were applied due to bollworm infestations. Peanuts were rated fair to good. Sorghum was 85 percent headed and 30 percent was coloring. Headworms were a problem in a few fields. Sorghum silage harvest was underway. Soybeans were in fair-to-good condition. Wheat was planted for fall grazing. Rangeland conditions were poor to good. Excellent late-summer grass growth was reported. Cattle were in good condition.

SOUTH PLAINS: Soil moisture is short to adequate. Cotton was in good condition. Some producers continued to irrigate, but many shut wells off due to pumping costs. Corn made good progress. Sorghum and pumpkins continued to progress well. Peanuts were in good condition; pod rot due to excessive moisture was reported. Pastures and rangelands were rated fair to good. Cattle were in good condition.

ROLLING PLAINS: Soil moisture is short to adequate. Temperatures warmed up and cotton looked good, with early varieties opening. Some fields started growing again and kicked off bolls. Pastures and livestock were in good condition. Producers started small grain planting for grazing purposes. Milo was harvested. Most insect activity was light, but bollworm activity in cotton increased. Flies and mosquitoes were more active due to standing water.

NORTH: Soil moisture is very short to short. Cotton was in poor-to-good condition; 30 percent of fields had open bolls. Peanuts were rated poor to fair. Soybeans, pastures and rangelands were in very-poor-to-fair condition. Most pastures and hay meadows were very dry. Soybeans were dropping leaves and being harvested. Sorghum was 45 percent harvested.
Corn was 70 percent harvested; reported yields were below average. Ten percent of oat and wheat fields were planted. Some producers fed hay to cattle. Most livestock were in good condition but showing signs of heat stress. Many ponds were completely dry. Sweet potato harvest started.
Sweet potato weevils were found in traps.

EAST TEXAS: Soil moisture is short to adequate. Very hot temperatures and scattered showers were reported. Hay harvest continued, but supplies were short. Cattle were in excellent condition; markets were steady. Fall vegetable planting continued in areas with adequate soil moisture. Wood County was quarantined due to sweet potato weevils.

FAR WEST: Soil moisture was short to adequate. Scattered thunderstorms were reported. Pastures, rangelands and livestock were rated poor to good.
Producers prepared for fall works and shipping stocker cattle. Cotton was rated fair to good.

WEST CENTRAL: Soil moisture is short. Hot, dry conditions were reported. Sorghum harvest continued; very good yields were reported.
Producers have another chance for cutting improved grasses. Small grain fields were sown. Early planted wheat was severely damaged by armyworms.
Producers were encouraged to destroy all emerged volunteer wheat. Cotton production was doing well under favorable growing conditions. Bollworms, fall armyworms, aphids and spider mites were a problem. Growth regulators were applied to younger cotton fields. Rangeland conditions improved.
Livestock were in fair to good condition. Pecan drop continued due to high heat and heavy crop loads. Irrigation continued in orchards.

CENTRAL: Soil moisture is short. Dairy production improved with cooler weather. Small showers were reported. Some coastal hay producers reported a 50 percent loss. Fields were prepared for winter small grains.

SOUTHEAST: Soil moisture is short. Hot, humid conditions were reported.
Armyworms were a problem. Corn and milo were harvested. Hay was baled.
Peanut producers cultivated their crops. Cattle prices dropped slightly.
Rice harvest continued.

SOUTHWEST: Soil moisture is very short. Hot, dry weather was reported.
Forage availability was below normal. Pastures, rangelands and yard grasses remained brown and in mid-summer dormancy. Corn and sorghum harvest is complete. Cotton harvest continued; excellent quality and near-record yields were reported in irrigated fields. Grape harvest was complete. Pecans continued to drop due to drought and heat stress.

COASTAL BEND: Soil moisture is short. Dry and hot conditions were reported. Cotton and soybean harvest continued. Deep tillage and stalk destruction continued. Rangelands and pastures deteriorated rapidly. Hay was purchased to feed cattle.

SOUTH: Soil moisture is very short. A light shower was reported. Cotton harvest was complete, but ginning will continue through the month. Cotton yields were below average due to prolonged drought and damaging hurricane rains. Corn and soybeans were planted. Rangelands and pastures still showed signs of drought and heat stress. Supplemental livestock feeding continued.

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