Windmill Country: West Texas farmers in tall cotton with near-record harvest
Windmill Country: West Texas farmers in tall cotton with near-record harvest

Windmill Country: West Texas farmers in tall cotton with near-record harvest

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Dry weather for several-weeks running has provided an early Christmas wish for cotton farmers across West Texas as harvesters operate in high gear gathering a near record crop.

“Harvest has gone quickly the past few weeks,” Karin Kuykendall said. “We are probably over three-fourth done … which is a lot considering we haven’t had a killing freeze across the region. It’s been spotty except for the northern Rolling Plains. They did get an earlier freeze than in past years that has impacted the crop in a negative way.”

Kuykendall is executive director for the 31-county Rolling Plains Cotton Growers Association around Abilene, and 12-county Southern Rolling Plains Cotton Growers Association around San Angelo.

“The cotton crop looks really good. I don’t know yet if this year’s cotton crop is the best we have ever had across the Concho Valley, but it could likely be near the top,” Doyle Schniers told me.

He said weather-related problems early in the growing season forced some acre losses; however the planted acres that survived have produced a good yield.

“Cotton harvest is about 80 percent complete in the Concho Valley,” Schniers said. “The yields have been outstanding with averages ranging from a bale up to two-plus bales per acre on dryland and three and four bales per acre on irrigated fields. There have been several farms producing five bales per acre on irrigated land.

“I’ve always heard that a good crop is normally better than what we think it is and a bad crop is sorrier than what we think it is,” he said. “At any rate, I think most of the harvest will be done by Christmas. There will be a few that will not finish until after the holidays.”

Doyle and his twin brother, Daryl, operate their own farms in Tom Green and Concho counties, in addition to providing custom farm services.

There is also above-average cotton yields in the Winters and Wingate area, said longtime farmer Randall Conner of Winters. “There are a lot of 750 to 1,000 pound yields on several farms in the area. (A bale of cotton weighs from 450 to 500 pounds). The Runnels County cotton harvest is about 75 percent complete.”

“It’s White Gold around Tahoka,” said Perry Flippin. “Cotton farmers on the High Plains are enjoying a bumper harvest. No area produces more cotton than the Llano Estacado.”

Flippin, editor emeritus of the Standard-Times, grew up on the South Plains operating a ‘Popping Johnny’ John Deere pulling an open ‘wagon’ trailer gathering cotton before modules and round bales were invented.

“Lubbock County has reached about 40 percent of its harvest total, and north of Lubbock, harvest is around 25 percent complete,” said Mark Brown, director of field services for Plains Cotton Growers, Inc. “Variability has been influenced by the late planting date well into June.”

“In areas with timely rainfall and best growing conditions, dryland acres have been yielding 1.5 to 2 bales per acre, with irrigated fields making up to 4 bales per acre,” Brown said.

The USDA November report has both the High and South Plains regions production estimates at 5.375 million bales.

More than 71 percent of the 2017 crop has been harvested across the Edwards Plateau, Rolling Plains, the Blacklands, East Texas and the Trans-Pecos, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

The Abilene Classing office has graded 197,503 cotton bales to date for the season from West Texas which includes the Concho Valley and Big Country. Add 131,084 from Oklahoma and 11,125 bales from Kansas and overall, the Abilene facility has already classed 339,712 bales from 38 gins this season.

In Lubbock, 246,227 samples were classed last week bringing the season total for that office to 930,774 from 71 gins. More than 61 percent of the bales classed for the week and just more than 52 percent for the season so far are color grade 21 and better.

In Lamesa, 110,651 samples were classed last week bringing the season total for that office to 503,269 from 39 gins.

The other classing office in Texas is located at Corpus Christi. With harvest all but complete in South Texas and the Coastal Bend, the Corpus office has graded 1,986,162 bales from 59 gins.

To date, a season total of 8,963,011 samples from 533 gins have been classed in the United States.

Jerry Lackey is agriculture editor emeritus. Contact him at jlackey@wcc.net.

Source: gosanangelo.com

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