Reports of open bolls jumped 12 percentage points in the past week as the U.S. cotton crop continues to mature.

According to USDA’s Sept. 19 Crop Progress report, open bolls are now reported in 48% of the nation’s cotton fields – just 5 percentage points behind the 5-year average for this week. Biggest weekly gains in the report came from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Virginia, and California.

Harvest continues to move slowly – not unexpected considering that most of the U.S. crop is still 2-3 weeks behind normal schedule. The report shows that 9% of the U.S. crop has been harvested – up 4 percentage points in the past week. Texas and Arizona continue to lead the way.

Crop condition remains relatively stable, with 64% of the crop rated good/excellent, 28% fair, and 8% poor/very poor.