USDA’s Prospective Plantings report for the 2025 crop year shows an intended cotton planted area of 9.87 million acres for the year – down 12% from 2024 acreage.

The report was issued by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) on March 31.

Upland cotton area for 2025 is estimated at 9.71 million acres, down 12% from 2024. American Pima area is estimated at 157,000 acres – down 24% from last year.

Estimated cotton acres are projected to decrease in all but two cotton-producing states – Arizona (up 22%) and Kansas (up 7%). Regionally, the report shows total Southeast cotton area at 1.98 million acres and 1.6 million acres across the Mid-South states. Southwest area is projected at 5.97 million acres, with 282,000 total cotton acres noted for Arizona, California, and New Mexico.

Among other crops, the USDA report for 2025 showed a 5% increase in planted acreage for corn, a 4% decrease for soybeans, a 4% increase for sorghum, an 8% increase for peanuts, and a 1% decrease for rice.

Estimates in the Prospective Plantings report are based primarily on surveys conducted during the first two weeks of March. The March Agricultural Survey is a probability survey that includes a sample of approximately 73,700 farm operators across the U.S. Data from operators was collected by mail, internet, or telephone to obtain information on crop acreage intentions for the 2025 crop year.