The USDA expects domestic upland cotton production to be 13.772 million bales.
That’s an increase of 2% from the November guess following a higher yield estimate, but well below the 2021 total of 17.191 million with higher planted area more than canceled out by a big drop in harvested area due to increased abandonment, primarily caused by drought in Oklahoma and Texas. The average yield is pegged at 857 pounds per acre, compared to 844 a month ago, with a harvested area of 7.712 million acres.