Rains interrupted harvest-aid chemical applications on the Texas High Plains. Timely harvest urged to preserve lint quality.
Cotton futures retreated from modest gains earlier in the day Wednesday, sliding to a new contract low in benchmark December for the fourth consecutive session and closing with a marginal loss.
- December settled down three ticks to 59.97 cents, confined to a tight 66-point range from up 44 points at 60.44 to down 22 points at 59.78 cents. It finished exactly where it opened overnight.
- October, where first notice day arrives Thursday, also closed down three points, settling at 58.70 cents, while March finished off 26 points to 59.63 cents. October’s open interest coming into the session was 55 lots.
- Volume slowed to an estimated 18,000 lots from 21,845 lots the previous session when spreads accounted for 4,603 lots or 21%, EFP 416 lots and EFS 20 lots. Options volume totaled 4,604 calls and 4,370 puts.
Rains have interrupted applications of harvest-aid chemicals just on the verge of early harvesting of a cotton crop that has virtually caught up on heat unit accumulations on the Texas High Plains.
“WeΆve really been blessed with heat units,” commented Mark Brown, Lubbock County agricultural extension agent, pointing out that cotton is about 60% open in a lot of fields in his county.
The rains arenΆt expected to have much effect on the cotton crop, coming too late to materially enhance yields and, standing alone, not particularly affecting quality, especially if followed by open weather and bright sunshine. Regrowth in general wasnΆt expected to be a problem.
Brown said extension specialists are encouraging producers to keep close check on the crop, use appropriate harvest-aid chemicals and get cotton off the stalk in a timely manner to preserve quality ahead of an expected onset of El Nino-associated wet weather.
Cotton is at its highest inherent quality when the bolls pop open, he pointed out, and can only deteriorate from that point forward.
ThereΆs a lot of variability in the Lubbock County crop, he said, but added that dryland cotton is a bright spot compared with recent widespread failures. Lubbock CountyΆs cotton area is about evenly split between dryland and irrigated acres.
Cotton plantings in Lubbock County totaled 256,250 acres, according to Farm Service Agency data, down 8.3% from last year. The county led the nation in cotton production last year on an output of 279,700 bales.
Trade estimates on the High Plains crop have ranged mostly on the plus side of USDAΆs September forecast of 3.95 million bales, up from last yearΆs 3.261 million bales.
Heat unit accumulations in recent weeks have helped the regionΆs crop to come from about two weeks behind schedule not long ago to almost even with normal progress. A small amount of cotton has been stripped.
With favorable weather, industry sources say enough cotton could be harvested and ginned to get the first look at quality data on the 2015 crop from classing offices by perhaps Oct. 10.
Lubbock through Tuesday had received only 0.02 of an inch of rain this month, but rainfall chances for the area were listed at 90% Wednesday, diminishing to 20% Wednesday night and Thursday. Mostly sunny skies then are expected through early next week.
A quarter-of-an inch had fallen at Texas Tech in Lubbock to about noon Wednesday, with amounts elsewhere ranging up to 0.55-inch at Sundown in Hockley County. Light rain continued into the afternoon. Scattered amounts Tuesday ranged up to 2.53 inches at Friona in Parmer County.
Futures open interest grew 1,361 lots Tuesday to 182,136, with DecemberΆs up 991 lots to 120,921 and MarchΆs down 30 lots to 45,459. Cert stocks declined 746 bales to 48,438.
