Crop condition for U.S. cotton perked up a bit this past week based on the cotton numbers in USDA’s July 12 Crop Progress report.

The crop condition numbers took a shift to the positive side with 56% of the U.S. crop now rated good/excellent, 35% fair and only 9% poor/very poor.

Squaring is now reported in 55% of the overall crop – up 13% from a week ago but lagging 6% behind the 5-year average for this date. Seven states – Arizona, California, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and South Carolina – are currently ahead of their respective averages.

Boll set is now up to 16% nationally – 4% behind the overall 5-year average. The biggest percentage increases in the past week came from Arkansas (up 26%), Arizona and South Carolina (both up 13%), Louisiana (up 11%), and California (up 10%).