RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Heavy rains in late September and early October took their toll on Virginia's cotton crop.
The National Agricultural Statistics Service has estimated that 7 percent of the state's cotton crop in poor condition, 26 percent is rated as fair, and the rest is in good or excellent shape. More than half of the harvest is complete.
Spencer Neale is vice president of commodity marketing for the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation. He said that since growers are still harvesting, it's too early to fully assess the rains' impact on cotton fields.
The October 2015 crop estimate from the NASS puts Virginia cotton production at 190,000 bales. That's' down 14 percent from last year's output.
Growers planted 2,000 fewer acres this year. Most cotton is grown in southeast Virginia.
