Three out of every 10 acres of cotton in Georgia, the No. 2 cotton-growing state in the country, was in poor or very poor condition following Hurricane Helene, said the USDA on Monday. Before the hurricane, just one in 10 acres fell in those categories in the weekly Crop Progress report and 59 percent were in good or excellent condition, compared to 34 percent now.
“There is a significant portion of the crop either damaged or lost due to the hurricane,” USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey told USDA’s radio news service.
In its September crop report, the USDA estimated that Georgia growers would pick 2.05 million bales of cotton weighing 480 pounds each, behind Texas, with 4.16 million bales, and ahead of Arkansas with 1.65 million bales. The October crop report, based on conditions at the start of the month, will be issued on Friday.
Georgia also is the largest peanut-growing state, with production forecast at 3.46 billion pounds in September, half of the U.S. total. The latest Crop Progress report said crop conditions deteriorated after the hurricane. Fifty percent of the crop was listed in good or excellent condition at the start of this week, compared to 63 percent before the hurricane. Peanut conditions declined as well in Florida, the second-largest producer, dropping to 26 percent good or excellent this week, compared to 53 percent before it.