Cotton

Grain

Peanuts

Policy

Rice

Tree and Vine

Weather

Midsouth Cotton – Harvest Reports – What Helped, Hurt – AgFax

October 30, 2015October 31, 2015
By Owen Taylor, Editorial Director

Share

Email

Here is this week’s issue of Midsouth Cotton, sponsored by the Midsouth staff of Bayer, maker of Liberty® herbicide.

Owen Taylor, Editor

Subscribe to this report

OVERVIEW

This is our second of two Midsouth Cotton Harvest Survey Reports for 2015.

This week’s report includes responses from a couple of our readers in the Southeast.
Our thanks to everyone who participated in this week’s survey.

HARVEST REPORTS

Mississippi, Coahoma County, Private Consultant:

Date of report: 10/29

Percent picked: 95%
Average yield: 1,400 to 1,600 lbs/acre
What helped this season?: Good management and some timely rains.
What hurt this season?: Heat stress.
How are other crops turning out?: Corn was good (approximately 200 bushels/acre ). Rice was good (conventional varieties averaged 180 bushels/acre).
Our early beans were good, with later beans falling off.

Arkansas, Central, Grower:

Date of report: 10/29

Percent picked: 100%
Average yield: 1,170 lbs/acre irrigated and 750 lbs/acre dryland.
What helped this season?: A few timely showers, good insect control.
What hurt this season?: Severe early herbicide burn.
Do differently next year?: Change herbicide mixtures.
How are other crops turning out?: Rice, milo and soybeans were average.

Arkansas, Crittenden County, Private Consultant:

Date of report: 10/29

Percent picked: 98%
Average yield: 1,100 to 1,200 lbs/acre
What helped this season?: Light insect pressure.
What hurt this season?: Repeated heavy rain early.
Do differently next year?: No changes.
How are other crops turning out?: Above average.

Alabama, Colbert, Fayette, Franklin, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marion, Morgan and Shelby Counties, Extension:

Date of report: 10/28

Percent picked: 70%
Average yield: 1,000 lbs/acre
What helped this season?: Rains were not necessarily plentiful but were timely in many areas.
What hurt this season?: Some areas experienced strong drought conditions. Also, weed control was an issue in some areas where extreme rains pushed planting dates back and timely burndowns were not achieved. Residual herbicides were applied at planting but lack of
rainfall after planting didn’t get them fully activated.
How are other crops turning out?: Corn was much better as a whole than I expected. (120 to 160 bu/acre dryland, depending on location). There were some periods of extremely dry weather, but yields were respectable. Early beans didn’t fair too well as a whole, (20 to 35 bu/acre dryland) but later planted and double cropped soybeans have looked good (40 to 60 bu/acre dryland).

Mississippi, Quitman County, Grower:

Date of report: 10/28

Percent picked: 70%
Average yield: 1,250 lbs/acre
What helped this season?: Milo/corn rotation.
What hurt this season?: Cotton following cotton, dry summer.
Do differently next year?: Only plant on rotated ground.
How are other crops turning out?: Corn was below average, while soybeans and milo were average.

Florida, Escambia County, University:

Date of report: 10/28

Percent picked: 50%
Average yield: 2 bales/acre
What helped this season?: Dry mid-season weather.
What hurt this season?: Early target spot and mid-harvest rains.
Do differently next year?: Keep an eye out for early season target spot.
How are other crops turning out?: Peanuts were very good.

Missouri, New Madrid County, Ag Distributor:

Date of report: 10/28

Percent picked: 85%
Average yield: 1,250 lbs/acre
What helped this season?: A long extended fall, not many insects, big yields.
What hurt this season?: Prices, early rains and production expenses.
Do differently next year?: Will try new technologies if available, as it is very expensive to control
pigweeds.
How are other crops turning out?: Soybeans were hurt in the last part of summer, so they were only fair. Milo fair to good, rice good, corn yields due to early rain were 20 to 30 bushels off the last 2 year’s average yields.

Mississippi, Noxubee, Lowndes, Monroe, Clay, Chickasaw, Itawamba and Prentiss Counties, Private Consultant:

Date of report: 10/28

Percent picked: 95%
Average yield: Dryland around 1,100 lbs/acre and irrigated 3-plus bales/acre.
What helped this season?: Irrigation and low insect pressure.
What hurt this season?: Drought and high temperatures.
How are other crops turning out?: Corn averages were off 20 to 60 bushels from normal and beans averaged anywhere between 20 to 55 bushels dryland and 60-plus bushels irrigated.

Mississippi, Marshall County, Grower:

Date of report: 10/28

Percent picked: 70%
Average yield: 1,202 lbs/acre
What helped this season?: Quality seed/genetics, quality consultants, quality fertility program.
What hurt this season?: Early wet spring, drainage, price.
Do differently next year?: Consider soil types and drainage issues.
How are other crops turning out?: Corn yield was 30 bushels short due to wet spring. Our calf crop was very good.

Arkansas, Craighead County, Grower:

Date of report: 10/28

Percent picked: 100%
Average yield: 1,190 lbs/acre
What helped this season?: Good healthy start to the crop and dry harvest weather.
What hurt this season?: Too much rain and disease and a cool August.
Do differently next year?: Plant earlier if possible and not grow as many acres.
How are other crops turning out?: Corn, milo and rice were below average. Our soybeans and peanuts were average.

Georgia, Seminole, Decatur and Miller Counties, Dealer Fieldman/Agronomist and Dealer/Manager:

Date of report: 10/28

Percent picked: 15%
Average yield: 1,300 lbs/acre
What helped this season?: Timely management with herbicides and sound fertility programs were strong suits among our farmers this year. Timely and thorough insect management helped us retain and protect as much fruit as the weather allowed.
What hurt this season?: For some growers, weed control slipped, which hurt yields, but the single biggest factor that hurt
us this year has been weather. Heat caused significant square shed in July, and hot, humid weather continued into the boll-opening timeframe of August and early September. That resulted in excess boll rot and hard lock.
How are other crops turning out?: Very well.

Mississippi, Noxubee, Lowndes and Monroe Counties, Dealer Fieldman/Agronomist:

Date of report: 10/28

Percent picked: 95%
Average yield: 1,350 lbs/acre
What helped this season?: Ability to water.
What hurt this season?: Heat and dryland acres.
Do differently next year?: More pivots will go up.
How are other crops turning out?:
Average to poor.

Arkansas, Desha County, Grower:

Date of report: 10/28

Percent picked: 100%
Average yield: 1,300 lbs/acre
What helped this season?: Good fall harvest weather.
What hurt this season?: Too much rain in the early season and high heat in the summer.
Do differently next year?: Look hard at present varieties.
How are other crops turning out?: All were off 15%.

Arkansas, Cross County, Extension:

Date of report: 10/28

Percent picked: 80%
Average yield: 1,280 lbs/acre
What helped this season?: Early timely rains, cooler than normal in August, with temperatures allowing for better boll fill.
What hurt this season?: High July temperatures requiring more energy for respiration.
Do differently next year?: It will be a
market-driven crop. If prices are favorable at planting, we could see an increase in acreage.
How are other crops turning out?: Soybean yields are above average, with 60- to 70-bushel yields being reported. Rice yields are off 10% to 20% due to spring rains and high temperatures during flowering.

Arkansas, Ashley County, Grower:

Date of report: 10/28

Percent picked: 100%
Average yield: 1,358 lbs/acre
What helped this season?: Irrigation and lower insect pressure.
What hurt this season?: Low market prices.
Do differently next year?: Probably try some skip row or at least plant lower populations. May try some conventional cotton.
How are other crops turning out?: Corn was close to 200 bu/acre, while soybeans were off 6 to 7 bushels per acre.

Alabama, Houston County, Grower:

Date of report: 10/27

Percent picked: 50%
Average yield: Irrigated averging 1,100 to 1,500 lbs/acre. Dryland averaging 650 lbs/acre.
What helped this season?: Irrigation.
What hurt this season?: Dryland farming.
Do differently next year?: Let dryland go.
How are other crops turning out?: Same as cotton. Irrigated good. Dryland poor.

Mississippi, Sharkey and Yazoo Counties, Grower:

Date of report: 10/27

Percent picked: 100%
Average yield: 650 to 1,200 lbs/acre
What helped this season?: Irrigation where we had it.
What hurt this season?: No rain since July 4, High temperatures, high input prices and low commodity prices.
Do differently next year?: I am not planning on growing 62-cent cotton.
How are other crops turning out?: Average to above-average yields but low prices.

Arkansas, Poinsett and Mississippi Counties, Dealer/Manager:

Date of report: 10/27

Percent picked: 96%
Average yield: 1,100 lbs/acre
What helped this season?: Planting varieties that perform.
What hurt this season?: Rain and insects.
How are other crops turning out?: Soybeans were anywhere from 30 to 80 bu/acre. Corn, rice and milo were average.

Mississippi, Noxubee County, Dealer Fieldman/Agronomist:

Date of report: 10/27

Percent picked: 98%
Average yield: 1,000 to 1,900 lbs/acre
What helped this season?: Low insect pressure.
What hurt this season?: Lack of rain.
Do differently next year?: Nothing.
How are other crops turning out?:
Dryland corn averaged 120 to 150 bu/acre, while irrigated corn averaged 180 to 230. Soybeans ranged from 40 to 90 bu/acre.

Arkansas, Ashley County, Grower:

Date of report: 10/27

Percent picked: 100%
Average yield: 1,800 lbs/acre
What helped this season?: Variety, irrigation.
What hurt this season?: Wet start.
Do differently next year?: May add more if it will not mean adding another picker.
How are other crops turning out?: All good yields.

Mississippi, Panola County, Grower:

Date of report: 10/27

Percent picked: 85%
Average yield: 1,200 to 1,500-plus lbs/acre
What helped this season?: Better varieties and rotation. Most of our crop was planted early.
What hurt this season?: Heat, dry periods, some of the crop was replanted very late.
Do differently next year?: New, better yielding varieties.
How are other crops turning out?: Average to excellent.

Tennessee, Eastern Tennessee Valley, Private Consultant:

Date of report: 10/27

Percent picked: 60%
Average yield: 2.5 bales/acre
What helped this season?: Timely rainfall in June, July and August. Some water in September. with enough heat units to finish a big top crop. Also, a good fertility program with an aggressive Pix program.
What hurt this season?: Cotton price! Multiple applications of residual herbicides.
Do differently next year?: Acres adjusted to market prices, new technology versus current cotton quality.
How are other crops turning out?: Corn and soybeans are good-plus to excellent. Any crop that was in low ground was hurt by big July and August rain events.

Arkansas, Poinsett and Mississippi Counties, Private Consultant:

Date of report: 10/27

Percent picked: 80%
Average yield: 1,150 to 1,200 lbs/acre
What helped this season?: Adequate rainfall during the growing season and dry harvest conditions for most of the crop.
What hurt this season?: More plant disease showed up this year. Target spot was bad in areas. Bacterial blight seems to show up every year now. Some varieties just tolerate it better than others.
Do differently next year?: Watch for more disease pressure and apply fungicides accordingly. Look at variety selection challenges.
How are other crops turning out?: Average yields.

Arkansas, Craighead County, Dealer Fieldman/Agronomist:

Date of report: 10/30

Percent picked: 85%
Average yield: Plus or minus 1,100 lbs/acre
What hurt this season?: Heavy rainfall shortly after irrigation. High winds on a couple of occasions. Diseases.
How are other crops turning out?: Average to a little below average.

Louisiana, Grant, Rapides and Natchitoches Parishes, Private Consultant

Date of report: 10/30

Percent picked: 100%
Average yield: 7oo to 1,300 lbs/acre
What helped this season?: Irrigation, dry harvest.
What hurt this season?: Floods and extended time of saturated soil followed immediately by drought.
Do differently next year?: A few more acres with newer herbicide traits.
How are other crops turning out?: Corn was good. Others were terrible to fair.

Subscribe to this free email report.

LINKS

AgRenaissance Software LLC Creates FieldX Inc. Subsidiary 10-30
Senators Vow to Shield Crop Insurance from Cuts – DTN 10-29
Farm Budget: 6 Myths About High and Low-Profit Farmers – DTN 10-29
Plans to Cut Crop Insurance Tossed Out – DTN 10-29
Farm Lenders Prepare for Debts, Hard Choices – DTN 10-28
DTN Fertilizer Trends: Prices Fall Several Dollars Per Ton 10-27
Cotton: IKEA Now Sourcing 100% Sustainable Cotton 10-30

MARKETS

DTN Cotton: Open | Close
Cotton Futures/Options – ICE
Sign up for our daily AgFax Cotton After Hours Summary

More Cotton News

AgFax Midsouth Cotton is published by AgFax Media LLC, Owen Taylor, Editorial Director. It is available to United States residents engaged in grain farming or qualifying ag-related professions. Mailing address: 142 Westlake Drive, Brandon, MS 39047. 601-992-9488 (Fax: 601-992-3503). Email: owen@agfax.com.