Arkansas Gin Numbers Hold Steady on Smaller 2025 Cotton Crop

May 20, 2026

By Mary Hightower

Arkansas was still the No. 3 cotton producer in the United States in 2025 despite growing fewer acres than the previous year, and this year, farmers may grow the smallest number of cotton acres in nearly a decade.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service this week issued a number of cotton-related reports, including the Cotton Ginnings Annual Summary and Crop Production and County Estimates for Cotton.

“The 2025 Arkansas state average yield came in at 1,239 pounds per acre, the fourth highest yield on record for Arkansas and slightly below the five-year average of 1,250 pounds per acre,” said Scott Stiles, extension economics program associate for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. The 2025 yield was 102 pounds below the 2024 record yield of 1,341 pounds.

In NASS’s county estimates, several of Arkansas’ southeastern counties averaged above 1,300 pounds, as did Poinsett County. Counties in the central part of the state had yields ranging from 1,120 to 1,220 pounds.

From NASS' March Prospective Plantings Report, Arkansas producers are expected to plant 470,000 acres of cotton in 2026. 

“That is down 10 percent, or 50,000 acres, from last year,” said Stiles. “This acreage estimate seemed high in early March. 

However, “since March 1, cotton prices have climbed from about 69 cents to 87 cents — the highest level since October 2023 for the December futures contract,” he said. “Recent conversations with growers would indicate the 470,000-acre estimate is certainly a possibility.

“Will prices in the mid-80s keep cotton acres fairly stable? We won’t know until the June 30 Acreage Report,” Stiles said.

Cotton was 66 percent planted as of May 17, up from 40 percent the previous week and well ahead of the five-year average.

Source : uada.edu

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Dennis Bulani is CEO of Rack Petroleum and Ultimate Yield in Biggar, Saskatchewan. Dan Aberhart hosts GTF Productions, Western Canadian Agriculture's foremost live briefing platform and its foremost AI training platform for ag operators