This overview of the 1995 production season is a compilation of information provided by extension agronomists and entomologists from across the Cotton Belt. With the exception of last year, producers can be pleased with recent trends in upland cotton yields in the United States (Figure 1).

However, whereas records for yield, production and price were set in 1994, the 1995 season was disappointing (Figures 1 & 2).

Yields for 1995 look slightly better when compared with five-year yield averages for each of the cotton producing states (Figure 3). This improvement reflects the fact that 1994 was an exceptionally good year -- making 1995 appear that much worse.

Although a natural inclination would be to move on and forget the pain associated with a bad season, some valuable lessons can be learned from such years. Dividing the Cotton Belt regionally (Figure 4) allows us to focus on recurring themes, largely a result of regional environmental and weather factors, to help explain last year's cotton development.

In spite of an increase in acreage planted to cotton in all four regions, yields in terms of pounds of lint produced per acre decreased (Table 1). Production, as total bales produced, also decreased across the belt with the exception of the Southeast where a resounding 59% increase in acreage compensated for the decreased yields also experienced in that region (Table 1).