Ginning totals show how drought, heat pushed crop

Today's USDA ginning report pretty much indicates how pushed this year's crop was by heat and drought in parts of the Midsouth and Southeast.

By September 15, 195,500 bales had been ginned in Mississippi, about twice as many total bales ginned to that date in the previous three years combined, 85,750 in the 2003-2005 period.

Louisiana's total was 123,800 up to September 15 this year, compared to about 87,000 bales combined during the three previous seasons.

Georgia's ginnings by mid September had reached 7,400 bales, which was somewhat lower than the 12,800 bales ginned in the state in 2004. But nothing had been ginned by September 15 in Georgia in either 2003 or 2005. Alabama gins has turned out 3,650 bales by September 15 this year, compared to zero bales in the three previous years.