Re:The World’s Cotton Supply Keeps Shrinking, Hit by Drought...
by h2odragon on Tuesday August 23, 2022 @09:30AM
(#32564644)
In TN, USA: Neighbors' cotton fields look really good this year, and boy there's a lot of it. Some of these fields are under cotton for the 3rd year in a row.
The corn got severely bitten by weather and may be dire yields. The winter wheat harvest was great, now most of those fields are growing soybean, I'd say about half of it unfertilized "green manure" and the other half intended for harvest.
I suspect about 20% of the land under cultivation this year is being stretched too far and is going to be reduced in productivity for the next several years. The 3rd year cotton fields look (guessing) 10% to 25% smaller than cotton fields beside them that have been rotated normally.
Another interesting note: Usually we get crop dusters working hard through cotton blossom time: this year they're grounded. Some farmers are spraying with surface gear, but I suspect some are skipping the boll weevil sprays which are kindof a big deal for the entire region.
The corn got severely bitten by weather and may be dire yields. The winter wheat harvest was great, now most of those fields are growing soybean, I'd say about half of it unfertilized "green manure" and the other half intended for harvest.
I suspect about 20% of the land under cultivation this year is being stretched too far and is going to be reduced in productivity for the next several years. The 3rd year cotton fields look (guessing) 10% to 25% smaller than cotton fields beside them that have been rotated normally.
Another interesting note: Usually we get crop dusters working hard through cotton blossom time: this year they're grounded. Some farmers are spraying with surface gear, but I suspect some are skipping the boll weevil sprays which are kindof a big deal for the entire region.