Cotton acreage looks mostly stable in SE Alabama

While cotton acreage is expected to be off by as much as a third in parts of the South, cotton plantings in southeast Alabama will probably remain “mostly stable” this season, William Birdsong told me this week. Birdsong, Extension Area Agronomist based at Headland, said that most of the production capacityi that part of the state is non-irrigated, and people are reluctant to plant much corn without irrigation, especially after last year’s drought.

“We’ll have some increase in corn acreage where people can irrigate, but we won’t see a lot of dryland corn in this immediate area,” he said. “North of Headland, the soils are somewhat heavier and have higher moisture retention capacity. We might see corn acreage go up a little there but, if anything, growers may plant a few more acres in soybeans.”

Peanuts are a question mark right now, he added. The most recent contract offers he heard were for $415 a ton.

“Most growers are waiting for better offers,” he said. “The peanut ball is way up in the air, and nobody knows where it will land. My best guesstimate is that peanut acreage will remain about the same or maybe drop 10%.”

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