Prospective Upland Cotton Acreage Down 4 Percent from Last Year

Issue:  PR-121-08
Released:  March 31, 2008
For information contact: Esmerelda Dickson or Betty Johnson.

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Texas producers intend to plant fewer acres of Upland cotton and Pima cotton in 2008.  Based on results of a survey conducted the first two weeks of March by USDA-NASS, Texas Field Office, planted acres of Upland cotton is forecast at 4.7 million acres, down 4 percent from last year.  Planting of Pima cotton is expected to total 20,000 acres, down 20 percent from 2007.

Growers intend to plant 2.25 million acres of corn, up 5 percent from last year.  Rice acreage is expected to increase 10 percent from last year to 160,000 acres.

This report is an early indication of producers’ intentions to plant.  Actual planted acreage may change after March 1 depending on weather, production costs and anticipated prices at harvest.  Another survey will be conducted in June to determine acreage actually planted.

Producers intend to plant 2.8 million acres of sorghum this year, up 2 percent from a year ago.

Prospective soybean acreage, at 200,000 acres, is up 133 percent from last year, and acreage intentions for sunflowers, at 60,000 acres, is up 46 percent from last year.

Texas winter wheat planted, at 6.0 million acres, is down 3 percent from a year ago, unchanged from the January estimate.

Planted acreage for peanuts is forecast at 250,000 acres, up 32 percent from 2007.

An estimated 4.95 million acres will be harvested for dry hay this year, down 7 percent from last year.

United States Upland cotton producers intend to plant 9.19 million acres, down 13 percent from last year.  Prospective corn acreage, at 86.0 million acres, is down 8 percent from 2007.  Sorghum acreage intentions at 7.42 million acres are down 4 percent from 2007.

Rice acreage is forecast at 2.77 million acres, up 9,000 acres from last year.  Soybean planting intentions are 74.8 million acres, up 18 percent from last year.

Winter wheat planted for the nation is estimated at 46.8 million acres, up 4 percent from the previous year’s acreage.