Short answer: U.S. cotton ginning season runs from late summer into early spring. South Texas gins start first, in July and August. Delta and Mid-South gins do most of their work in October and November. Southeast gins peak in November and December. The Texas High Plains, Oklahoma and Arizona run latest, into February and March. In 2025, U.S. gins had ginned about a third of the crop by November 1, 64% by December 1, 88% by January 1 and 99% by March 1.
That's the national picture. Your local gin runs on its own clock.
What "ginning season" actually means
A cotton gin separates lint from seed. Modules come in from the field. The gin dries and cleans the seed cotton, pulls the lint off the seed, and presses it into bales. Each bale gets sampled for USDA classing.
Ginning season is the stretch from the first module through the feeder to the last bale off the press.
It trails harvest. Modules often wait on the gin yard before they're ginned. So a region can be close to done harvesting while its gins are still running full tilt. In early September 2025, for example, AgriLife reported Coastal Bend gin yards full and running around the clock.
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When the crop comes in: USDA's usual harvest dates
Gins can't run until harvest starts, so harvest dates are the place to begin. These are USDA NASS's usual harvest dates for the major cotton states.
| State | Harvest begins | Most active | Harvest ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | Aug 10 | Sep 13 – Dec 21 | Jan 11 |
| Louisiana | Sep 14 | Sep 23 – Oct 23 | Nov 6 |
| Mississippi | Sep 15 | Sep 27 – Oct 29 | Nov 12 |
| Arkansas | Sep 20 | Sep 29 – Nov 6 | Nov 20 |
| Missouri | Sep 17 | Sep 27 – Nov 9 | Nov 24 |
| Tennessee | Sep 20 | Sep 30 – Nov 10 | Nov 25 |
| Alabama | Sep 5 | Sep 20 – Oct 20 | Dec 1 |
| Georgia | Sep 23 | Oct 10 – Dec 2 | Dec 18 |
| North Carolina | Sep 30 | Oct 10 – Nov 15 | Dec 15 |
| Oklahoma | Oct 4 | Oct 15 – Dec 9 | Dec 24 |
| Arizona | Sep 15 | Oct 10 – Nov 10 | Dec 25 |
| California | Oct 5 | Oct 10 – Nov 1 | Nov 20 |
Source: USDA NASS, Field Crops Usual Planting and Harvesting Dates (2010).
Texas has the widest window by far. The state stretches from the Rio Grande Valley, where Texas A&M says the first bale comes off in July, to the High Plains, where the season wraps up in December.
When the gins actually run: 2025, by the numbers
USDA's Cotton Ginnings report counts running bales ginned, twice a month during the season. The 2025 crop shows how the season unfolds.
This table shows the share of each state's final 2025 total that had been ginned by each date:
| State | Nov 1 | Dec 1 | Jan 1 | Feb 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | 65% | 98% | 100% | 100% |
| Louisiana | 67% | 95% | 100% | 100% |
| Mississippi | 64% | 96% | 100% | 100% |
| Arkansas | 47% | 78% | 95% | 98% |
| Missouri | 38% | 77% | 94% | 99% |
| Alabama | 36% | 73% | 94% | 99% |
| North Carolina | 28% | 70% | 97% | 100% |
| Georgia | 22% | 55% | 90% | 99% |
| Texas | 34% | 59% | 86% | 98% |
| California | 22% | 48% | 80% | 95% |
| Arizona | (D) | 25% | 53% | 81% |
| Oklahoma | 15% | 34% | 60% | 77% |
| United States | 34% | 64% | 88% | 97% |
Calculated from USDA NASS, Cotton Ginnings 2025 Summary. (D) = withheld by USDA to avoid disclosing individual operations. October 2025 numbers aren't available because of the lapse in federal funding.
The pattern is clear. The Delta is close to finished by December 1. Georgia is barely past halfway. Oklahoma has two-thirds of its crop still to gin.
Region by region
South Texas and the Coastal Bend: first in, first out
The Rio Grande Valley and Coastal Bend plant early and harvest in July and August. In 2024, AgriLife reported harvest there "about wrapped up" by August 20. In early September 2025, Coastal Bend gin yards were full and running around the clock.
San Patricio County ginned 488,950 running bales in 2025.
Delta and Mid-South: a fast fall
Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee had roughly two-thirds of their 2025 crops ginned by November 1, and nearly all of it by December 1. Arkansas and the Missouri Bootheel run a few weeks behind, with most of their ginning done by mid-December.
Southeast: November and December
Georgia's usual harvest runs October 10 through December 2 at its peak. Its gins followed suit: 22% of the 2025 crop was ginned by November 1, 55% by December 1 and 90% by January 1. North Carolina and Alabama ran a bit ahead of Georgia.
The West: late and steady
California and Arizona gins ran well into winter in 2025. Arizona had only about half its crop ginned by January 1 and kept going into March.
Texas High Plains and Oklahoma: the long haul
This is the longest season in the Cotton Belt.
Lubbock County ginned 562,150 running bales in 2025, the most of any U.S. county with a published figure. On the High Plains, cotton is stripped from October through December, and the gins run into the winter. For the 2025 crop, Texas as a whole was 86% ginned by January 1 and 98% by February 1.
Oklahoma ran even later in 2025: 60% by January 1 and 88% by March 1.
How USDA tracks the ginning season
USDA NASS surveys every active gin. Data are collected on the 1st and 15th of each month from September through January, then on February 1 and March 1. Texas collection starts with an August 1 survey. NASS publishes the results in its Cotton Ginnings reports and puts out an annual summary in May. Check the NASS calendar for this season's release dates.
A few terms worth knowing:
- Running bales: the bales gins actually turn out. They aren't all the same weight. USDA's 2025 U.S. average net weight was 491.5 pounds per bale.
- 480-pound equivalent bales: USDA also reports the same crop in standard 480-pound bales, which makes it easier to compare states and years.
- Active gins: USDA counted 419 active U.S. gins in 2025, down from 446 in 2024. Texas had 150.
The ginnings report measures what actually came through the gins, which makes it one of the most direct reads on the size of the crop.
Where the 2026 season stands
USDA's Crop Progress report for the week ending October 11, 2026, had U.S. cotton 31% harvested, ahead of the 2021–2025 average of 29%. Texas was 38% harvested (average 34%), Mississippi 57% (average 46%) and Georgia 16% (average 16%).
Questions to ask your gin before the rush
- When do you expect to start, and when do you usually wrap up?
- How do you schedule module pickup, and how far out are you right now?
- Where should modules be staged, and how do you want them tagged?
- Who is the contact when there's a problem?
None of that is complicated. You just want the answers before the yard fills up.
For more on how volume swings affect a gin's year, see Seasonal Cotton Demand: Impact on Gin Operations.
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FAQ
When does cotton ginning season start?
It starts with the first harvest, in South Texas in July and August. In most of the Cotton Belt, gins start in September or October, after harvest begins.
How long does cotton ginning season last?
Nationally, it runs from late summer to early spring. In 2025, U.S. gins had about 88% of the crop ginned by January 1 and 99% by March 1.
What is ginning of cotton?
Ginning is separating cotton lint from the seed. The gin also dries and cleans the seed cotton, then presses the lint into bales that are sampled for USDA classing.
When do cotton gins in Lubbock run?
Lubbock-area gins start once stripper harvest gets going in the fall and run into the winter. For the 2025 crop, Texas was 86% ginned by January 1, 2026, and 98% by February 1.
Which states finish ginning first?
In 2025, Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee were all at least 95% ginned by December 1.
How many cotton gins are there in the U.S.?
USDA counted 419 active cotton gins in the 2025 season, down from 446 in 2024. Texas had 150 of them.
Sources
- USDA NASS, Field Crops Usual Planting and Harvesting Dates (Agricultural Handbook 628, October 2010), All Cotton, usual harvesting dates by state. https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/vm40xr56k/dv13zw65p/w9505297d/planting-10-29-2010.pdf
- USDA NASS, Cotton Ginnings 2025 Summary (May 2026): biweekly running bales ginned by state (Nov 1, 2025 – Mar 1, 2026), 2025 state totals, 419 active gins (446 in 2024), 150 in Texas, U.S. average net weight 491.5 lb per bale; survey schedule (1st and 15th, Sept–Jan, Feb 1, Mar 1; Texas from Aug 1), Lubbock County 562,150 and San Patricio County 488,950 running bales, and the note that October 2025 data were not available because of the funding lapse. Percentages by date were calculated by cottongins.org from these tables. https://esmis.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/release-files/795901/ctgnan26.pdf
- USDA NASS, Crop Progress, Oct 13, 2026 (week ending Oct 11): cotton harvested by state and the 2021–2025 average. https://release.nass.usda.gov/reports/prog4126.pdf
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Cotton, "Texas Is Cotton Country" (archived Oct 21, 2013): first Valley bale in July, a season finishing in December on the High Plains. https://web.archive.org/web/20131021084716/http://cotton.tamu.edu/cottoncountry.htm
- AgriLife Today, "Cotton crop thrives with timely rains across the state," Sept 3, 2025: Coastal Bend gin yards full and running around the clock. https://agrilifetoday.tamu.edu/2025/09/03/cotton-crop-thrives-with-timely-rains-across-the-state/
- AgriLife Today, "Cotton crop faring better than past two drought years," Aug 20, 2024: Coastal Bend and Valley harvest about wrapped up. https://agrilifetoday.tamu.edu/2024/08/20/cotton-crop-faring-better-than-past-two-drought-years/
- USDA NASS, Guide to NASS Surveys: Cotton Ginnings. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Surveys/Guide_to_NASS_Surveys/Cotton_Ginnings/index.php
