Fluffy white cotton drips from bolls now ready for harvest in Polk County field. (Agnes Hagin/thepolkfishwrap.com)
Local farmers planted about the same acreage for corn and cotton — 1,300 acres each.
Corn prices are up about $1 from last September or $7.35 per bushel while the price for cotton is 72 cents per pound, down 21 cents from 2011.
Cotton is now being harvested and farmers hope for 800 pounds per acre. This prediction can change once it is gathered from the fields.
Ricky Ensley, extension coordinator, said corn production this year averages about 20 bushels from last year or 80 bushels an acre.
“Corn did suffer due to drought,” he said. “Rainfall was sparse when the crop was developing (June-July).”
Hay production is down for cattlemen producing forage for animals. Cuttings dropped from 3 to 2 because of the lack of rainfall.
In addition to corn and cotton, local farmers planted 1,800 acres of soybeans, 1,400 acres of wheat and 7,000 acres of hay land.
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