Squaring continues to slowly improve in the Aug. 2 Crop Progress report from USDA. But the biggest changes came in boll set.

Squaring is now reported in 82% of the U.S. crop – up 4 percentage points in the past week. It’s continued improvement but still 8 percentage points off the 5-year average for this week. Biggest gains came in Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Virginia.

The big change came in boll set, with bolls now reported in 50% of the U.S. crop. That’s up 13 percentage points in the past week and now within 3 percentage points of the 5-year average. All cotton producing states showed robust improvement, with Kansas (up 32 points), Virginia (up 29 points), Alabama (up 24 points), and Missouri (up 22 points) leading the way. Seven states are currently reported ahead of their respective 5-year averages.

Cotton condition remains steady, with 60% of the crop rated good/excellent, 32% rated fair, and 8% rated poor/very poor.