Oklahoma cotton producers are turning their attention to harvest after a season marked by drought and extreme heat. OSU Cotton Extension Specialist Jenny Dudak says some fields are already being harvested, but producers are still weighing costs and market conditions as harvest activity ramps up.
“Really, we’re just thinking about harvest. You know, there’s already some farms that have been harvesting. Pickers have been out, strippers have been out. I’ve seen round modules sitting on the edges of fields driving around, you know, so, and I think that’s earlier than we were last year. There’s still some guys out there kind of deciding if they’re going to harvest or not, you know, just trying to kind of see what the market does or also what harvest cost does between now and then.”
Dudak says the challenging growing season has taken its toll on the crop.
“As far as our abandonment acres, I don’t have an exact number yet, but I do know, you know, with our crop progress reports, you know, it’s not looking that great as far as our, you know, good to excellent crop condition. I think we’re sitting somewhere around 9% is what the USDA is estimating, you know, for those numbers. So, you know, it’s been a hard year. You know, we’ve had hard years in the past. I’m just hoping and praying that everybody can make it through this year and, you know, start again, start fresh again next year.”
The drought has been a recurring challenge for cotton growers, but Dudak says this year stood out for another reason.
“It didn’t rain and it got really hot. So, you know, I’ve been in this position for a few years now and, you know, we faced drought conditions before, but I think what was different this year is just the sheer amount of heat units that we accumulated, you know, between July and August and then into September as well. I t got, I mean, as everybody knows, everybody’s been outside along with me. It got really hot. And so it really pushed our cotton along quickly. It helped it progress quickly, which kind of led to some of those earlier harvesting times.”