The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported 2021 upland cotton production at 17.191 million bales nationally — an increase of 3 million bales from 2020. For the 2021 season the Plains Cotton Growers Inc. 42-county service area produced 4,592,515 million bales, after planting 4,011,501 acres and harvesting 3,457,749 of them. Lynn County came in at the top with 452,200 bales followed by Lubbock and Gaines Counties.
According to the National Cotton Council, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) projects 2022-2023 U.S. upland cotton production to be 16.5 million bales. Mill use is projected at 2.5 million bales, while exports are projected to be 14.5 million bales. The estimated total offtake stands at 17 million bales. With beginning stocks of 3.4 million bales, this would result in U.S. ending stocks of 2.9 million bales at the end of the 2022 marketing year and a stocks-to-use ratio of 17.1%.
The High Plains is expected to plant roughly 4 million acres this season.