Based on USDA’s August 23 Crop Progress report, overall crop condition for the U.S. cotton crop continues to improve, with 71% of the crop now rated Good/Excellent. That’s a 4-percentage point climb in the past week, pulling points away from the Fair category. Among the rest of the crop, 23% is now rated Fair and only 6% considered Poor/Very Poor.

The report also showed that 97% of the crop has squared – just 3 percentage points behind the 5-year average for this week.

Boll set is now reported in 79% of the crop – up 4 percentage points in the past week but still 10 percentage points behind average. The biggest increase in boll set came in Tennessee (up 18 points to 93%), with five states still ahead of their respective 5-year averages.

Open bolls increased slightly in the past week, with the report showing open bolls present in 14% of the total crop – up 4 percentage points. At this point, only two states – Arizona and Mississippi – are ahead of average.