Cotton producers in Oklahoma, US, liken growing the crop to a 24-hour road race.
It’s about trying to predict how the environment is going to affect the crop and manage it to those environmental factors that could potentially cost yield, capitalize on them to increase yield or maintain the yield. With cotton, maybe there’s a little more attempting to mitigate risk. But like any crop, the goal is to be profitable.

Oklahoma wants to muscle its way to the front of the US cotton scene. In the short term, a program will be established that evaluates different agronomic practices that ultimately will help producers lead more efficient operations.

In November 2017, the US Department of Agriculture Crop Production Report ranked Oklahoma fourth in the US in cotton production with an estimated 1.1 million bales.

Last year, there were 5,55,000 acres of cotton harvested in the state. That number is up from 2,90,000 in 2016 and 2,05,000 in 2015.

Oklahoma, along with Texas and Kansas, represents the only part of the US where cotton acreage is both growing and stabilizing. Oklahoma is very quickly emerging as a force in cotton production.

Generally, the longer the growing season cotton enjoys, the better. However the newest acres being devoted to the crop are in some of the shortest season environments in the nation.