Kansas growers have been harvesting bumper crops of cotton this season. That is giving a boost in the state to a crop touted for its good profit margin and low water use.
The Hutchinson News reports that the uptick in yields is a positive sign for a crop that has been struggling to regain acreage since it spiked at more than 115,000 acres in 2006. Kansas has four cotton gins.
The Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service estimates cotton production in Kansas at 52,000 bales, up 27 percent from a year ago.
Cotton acres harvested in 2014 will be up 12 percent, with 29,000 acres cut. The average yield is forecast at a record 861 pounds per acre, or about 104 pounds per acre more than a year ago.
