By Jim Steadman

USDA’s Planted Acres report issued on June 30 showed that U.S. cotton growers have planted an estimated 10.1 million acres of upland and Pima cotton in 2025 – down 10% from 2024’s final acreage figures.

The report reflects a 2.3% acreage increase from USDA’s Prospective Plantings estimate of 9.87 million acres on March 31.

For 2025, upland area is estimated at 9.95 million acres, down 9% from last year. American Pima plantings are estimated at 171,000 acres, down 17% from 2024.

According to the report, compared with last year, upland planted area showed decreases in 15 of the 17 major cotton-producing states. The largest decrease comes from Texas, where upland acres dropped by 250,000 acres from last year. Georgia, Mississippi, and North Carolina all show decreases of 100,000 acres or more from their 2024 totals, while Louisiana reports record low planted cotton acres.

Only Kansas showed a small increase in planted acres (up 7 percentage points), while California upland acres were essentially unchanged from 2024.

On a regional basis, total planted cotton acres in the Southeast for 2025 totaled 1.96 million acres across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia – down 15.5% from 2024. In the Mid-South, planted acres dropped to 1.64 million acres – down 17.5%. In the Southwest, estimated upland planted acres dropped 4.7% to a reported 6.21 million acres, while upland cotton acres in the West decreased 12.6% to 139,000 acres.

American Pima acres showed declines in California, New Mexico, and Texas, with a 4,000 acre increase in Arizona.

The report also noted that cotton producers planted 97% of their acreage this year with biotech varieties – up 1% from 2024. Of those varieties, 4% were insect resistant only, 6% were herbicide resistant only, and the remaining 87% were stacked gene varieties.