AgFax Mid South Cotton Report

Rains and cool temperatures continue stalling cotton planting and field work. A few acres have been planted since our last report. The activity tended to be in areas that missed recent rains.

Corn planting will wrap up soon through much of our coverage area, forcing farmers to decide whether to go with cotton, soybeans or something else. Peanuts occasionally come up in the conversation if growers already are set up to grow the crop.

It's debatable whether any traditional cotton growers will step into a few rice acres this spring. But with row rice gaining more attention, a few producers might give it a whirl. Compared to other commodities, the rice market seems halfway inviting.

Harold Lambert, Independent Consultant, Ventress, Louisiana

We haven't planted any cotton yet, and it's a little too early to plant here. If we plant it too early, we'll have issues with thunderstorms when it's trying to open. However, by the end of the week (4/24), we will likely start putting a little cottonseed in the ground.

"I don't think anyone is changing much from what they practiced in 2019 for any crop. Growers who typically grow cotton will continue to do so this year, but the acres may decrease slightly. I don't scout many cotton acres to begin with, but I don't think we will see a significant reduction in acres.

"Corn is anywhere from a V4 to V8 growth stage, and it has all been fertilized. It's probably the most consistent and uniform corn I've ever dealt with. It was wonderful weather for planting and getting a stand of corn.

"I think about 40% of my soybean acres have been planted. That includes the acres on sugarcane ground, which are early maturing varieties. The soybeans that have been planted range just planted to V2. 

"I think we'll have an average number of rice acres, which is becoming more tied to crawfish production. Some row rice has been planted, and those are the acres not connected to crawfish production. The row rice that has been planted looks good. I would say close to 10% of our rice crop this year will be row rice. There was just a little in 2019.

"Sugarcane acres have been steadily increasing. For me, it's probably going to level off because the mills will reach a point where they can't take anymore."

Hank Jones, RHJ Ag Services, Winnsboro, Louisiana

None of my cotton has been planted yet, but we're going to have less cotton than we did in 2019.

"My corn is starting to come up today (4/21) Most of it is between emergence and growth stage V7. By V6 or V7, the corn is out of the ground. We really had a good run and planted and fertilized a big number of acres. Our herbicide application went out right before Easter. The cool snap came through, and corn growth slowed. But that has been about the only issue we've had with corn. Some of the herbicides did slightly ding up corn.

"We've got our corn crop in the ground and are in really good shape south of I-20. However, north of I-20, it's a mess. We planted those fields wet, and they've been wet ever since then. The corn stands aren't perfect, but they're good enough. We are behind a little.

"So far, we've scraped by with decent weather. Of course, we also have had cold stretches, rain, hail, tornadoes and everything else, but that's just a typical spring for us. The Easter Sunday (4/12) tornadoes tore up maybe eight pivots in West Carroll Parish. Pivots seem to be like magnets to tornados.

"Our rice has mostly been planted and is coming up, and we're seeing a big expansion of row rice acres this year. Most everybody has finished planting their row rice, but plants have developed slowly with all the cold weather. That's especially the case with April-planted rice.

"The shift to row rice is pretty remarkable, and some rice hasn't been planted yet. This transition is mainly due to the ease of production. With row rice, growers don't have to throw up levees, hold floods and such. Some of my guys kept rows from last year, and its suitable dirt for row rice, so they're choosing to plant rice in those fields instead of something else. In addition to the convenience of row rice, some of that rice may cashflow slightly better than soybeans.

"Some of our beans are putting on a trifoliate but a bunch are still in the bag. Luckily, we were able to get a portion of our ground prepared for soybeans, and a good number of beans are already in the ground."

Dan Fromme, Louisiana Extension Cotton and Corn Specialist

"More rain fell over the weekend, so we're wet and shut down right now (4/22). As soon as it dries up, we'll be getting after it. But the forecast calls for a chance of rain over the next couple of days.

"I'm afraid that we're in the same pattern that developed over the last couple of years – bombarded with so much rain that it pushes much of the cotton planting into mid-May, which we don't like to see. Hopefully, conditions will change enough that we can wrap up a big portion of planting before the middle of next month.

"The weather has warmed up, which is perking up the corn. With all the cool, wet conditions, it looked rather puny, plus herbicides weren't metabolizing properly."