The cotton is starting bloom. I think it is pretty to see the fields full of the pink and white flowers. Also, depending on where you live this might be an uncommon sight. We do have corn and beans down here too. When we lived in SC there was tobacco, but I haven't seen any near here.
I looked up the cotton production statistics for our county. The last year listed was 2007. Here are the last 7 years:
2000: 2900 bales/ 4300 acres
2001: 7000 bales/ 4300 acres
2002: 4200 bales/ 4000 acres
2003: 2500 bales/ 1700 acres
2004: 5400 bales/ 2200 acres
2005: 7100 bales/ 4000 acres
2006: 6300 bales/ 4520 acres
2007: 2960 bales/ 2400 acres
I suppose as with any kind of farming there are weather conditions and market conditions which explain the fluctuation in the amount farmed and produced.
I wish that I had a picture of a bale of cotton. They are as big as the trailer of a semi. The way cotton is harvested leaves a lot of waste. If you hand picked it you could get another bale out of most average sized fields. On a field trip in SC I asked the farmer about all the waste. He said it isn't cost effective to pick up all the left overs on the ground. It just blows away.
I'll take a picture when they harvest around here, if I'm still blogging then. It will be around Thanksgiving or Christmas, depending on the weather.
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