Drought hits US cotton while wet ruins wheat plans

by Agrimoney.com

Weather extremes in North America have set the US cotton crop off to its worst start since at least the early 1990s, besides lookinng like forcing both American and Canadian wheat farmers to abandon "significant" stretches of land.

The US cotton crop was, in the first full national ratings for 2011, pegged 28% in "good" or "excellent" health, down from 62% a year before and the lowest rating since at least 1994, when readily-accessible records begin.

The previous early-June low was set in 2006, when 40% of the crop was rated in the top two bands, and production fell more than 2m bales year on year.

In Texas, the major US producing state, just 26% of cotton was in the top two bands, amid a drought which is estimated to have cost more than $3bn.

"Emerging corn and cotton were damaged in areas of the High Plains due to hot and windy conditions," US Department of Agriculture officials said.

'High levels of precipitation'

The data follow a 600,000-acre cut, to 10.2m acres, last week by the USDA to its estimate for the area of cotton that will be harvested, implying near-record rates of abandonment.

And they came as the USDA highlighted continued delays to domestic spring wheat sowings thanks to wet weather which has prevented fieldwork by heavy farm machinery, leaving 12% left to sow of a crop which is normally all in the ground by now.

"High levels of precipitation were reported again this week," USDA staff in Montana, America's second biggest spring wheat state, said.

Broker US Commodites said that it was "now believed that up to 10% of the spring wheat area in the US will not be planted", with 8% of Canadian planting plans lost too.

'Abandon significant acreage'

In Canada, sowings of spring crops - largely wheat an canola - have reached 86%, "well behind" the typical 96%, and forcing farmers for a second successive season to leave land idle, the Canadian Wheat Board said.

"Pockets of Saskatchewan and Manitoba made some good seeding progress, but many farmers are now being forced to abandon significant acreage due to excess moisture," the board said.

Viterra, the Canadian grain handler, warned last week that Western Canadian sowings might fall 10m acres below an initial forecast of 62m acres.

The board added that in northerly areas, "more rain is badly needed, with only light showers received last week".

The board will later on Tuesday give a more detailed updated on Canadian crop conditions.

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