Short answer: Texas upland cotton averaged 600 pounds of lint per harvested acre in 2025, according to USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). At 480 pounds per bale, that's about 1.25 bales per acre. The statewide number hides a huge spread. In 2024, insured irrigated cotton in Floyd County made about 999 pounds per planted acre (roughly 2 bales), while insured dryland cotton in the same county made 49 pounds. South Texas and the Coastal Bend can make 2 to 3 bales or more in a good year.
The bale math: pounds to bales
Cotton yields are reported in pounds of lint per acre. Lint is the fiber left after the gin removes the seed and trash. USDA counts production in 480-pound net weight bales, so the conversion is simple:
Bales per acre = pounds of lint per acre ÷ 480
| Lint yield (lb/acre) | Bales per acre |
|---|---|
| 240 | 0.50 |
| 480 | 1.00 |
| 600 | 1.25 |
| 720 | 1.50 |
| 960 | 2.00 |
| 1,200 | 2.50 |
| 1,440 | 3.00 |
Real bales off a gin press run a little heavier. The 2025 U.S. average was 491.5 pounds per running bale, per NASS. For yield talk, though, 480 is the standard.
If a yield is quoted in pounds of seed cotton instead of lint, it has to be multiplied by turnout first. The guide to cotton gin turnout walks through that math.
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Texas yields, year by year
Here's the statewide picture for upland cotton from NASS's Crop Production 2025 Summary (January 2026):
| Year | Planted acres | Harvested acres | Lint yield per harvested acre | Bales per harvested acre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 5.55 million | 2.10 million | 618 lb | 1.29 |
| 2024 | 5.95 million | 2.95 million | 656 lb | 1.37 |
| 2025 | 5.30 million | 4.00 million | 600 lb | 1.25 |
Look at the gap between planted and harvested acres. In 2023, Texas harvested only about 38% of what it planted. The rest was abandoned, mostly dryland fields that failed in drought.
That matters because NASS yields are per harvested acre. When the worst fields drop out, the yield on the fields that remain can look decent even in a bad year. Spread total production over every planted acre and the picture changes. Using NASS's production numbers, Texas made roughly 234 pounds per planted acre in 2023, 325 in 2024 and about 453 in 2025. The 2025 crop wasn't a higher-yielding crop per harvested acre. More of it simply made it to harvest.
Dryland vs irrigated on the High Plains
The Texas High Plains around Lubbock grows about half of the state's crop. Plains Cotton Growers estimated its 42-county area at about 2.5 million bales in 2025, against NASS's 5.0 million for all Texas upland. A big share of those acres are dryland. The best public look at dryland vs irrigated yields by county comes from the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA), which sets final county yields by practice for area crop insurance plans such as STAX.
RMA calculates these as acre-weighted averages of yields reported by insured growers, on a planted-acre basis. That means a failed dryland field counts as a very low yield instead of dropping out. Plains Cotton Growers published the 2024 numbers for its service area:
| County | 2024 dryland (non-irrigated), lb/planted acre | 2024 irrigated, lb/planted acre |
|---|---|---|
| Floyd | 49 | 999 |
| Lubbock | 91 | 748 |
| Hale | 75 | 720 |
| Lynn | 93 | 697 |
| Dawson | 50 | 629 |
| Parmer | 57 | 462 |
Source: USDA RMA 2024 final county yields, as compiled by Plains Cotton Growers (June 2025).
2024 was a rough dryland year. The AgriLife Extension cotton specialist in Lubbock put High Plains abandonment at about 50% in both 2023 and 2024. Irrigated fields in Floyd and Lubbock counties still averaged roughly 1.5 to 2 bales per planted acre.
County yields per harvested acre
County yields on a harvested-acre basis blend dryland and irrigated fields. Here's how a few High Plains counties compare across two seasons:
| County | 2024 yield, lb/harvested acre (NASS) | 2025 yield, lb/harvested acre (PCG estimate) |
|---|---|---|
| Floyd | 903 | 729 |
| Lubbock | 834 | 519 |
| Hale | 562 | 588 |
| Lynn | 343 | 571 |
| Dawson | 434 | 345 |
| Parmer | 480 | 622 |
2024 figures are NASS county estimates as published by Plains Cotton Growers. 2025 figures are Plains Cotton Growers' production estimates, released October 2026.
Lynn County is a good example of how much harvested acreage swings. It harvested 170,000 acres in 2024 and about 270,600 in 2025, and it led the region in 2025 with an estimated 321,912 bales.
Why dryland South Plains yields swing so much
A dryland cotton crop on the South Plains lives on stored soil moisture and whatever rain falls in summer. When rain comes at the right time, dryland cotton can make a respectable crop. When it doesn't, fields fail outright and are abandoned.
2025 showed the upside. AgriLife Extension reported in September 2025 that frequent rainfall and mild temperatures after planting gave better-than-average conditions for both dryland and irrigated fields, and expected South Plains abandonment under 25%. That's half the rate of the prior two seasons. Statewide, harvested acres jumped from 2.95 million to 4.0 million even though fewer acres were planted.
What a good yield looks like in other Texas regions
Yields outside the High Plains are reported less consistently, so these are season reports, not long-run averages. All are from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension's statewide cotton report of September 2025:
- Coastal Bend: District reporters noted above-average cotton yields of 2 to 3.5 bales per acre in 2025, with gin yards full and gins running around the clock.
- Lower Rio Grande Valley: Harvested trial acres produced above-average yields, several from 2.5 to more than 3 bales per acre. Growers planted only about 60,000 acres, compared with a typical 100,000 to 120,000. Trial plots tend to run higher than whole-farm yields. AgriLife's own variety trial reports note that table-top ginning without a lint cleaner makes trial yields "generally higher than regional averages."
- Blackland Prairie: Mostly dryland. AgriLife heard preliminary estimates of 2-bale and, in some fields, 3-bale yield potential after good rains.
- Rolling Plains: About 275,000 acres, primarily dryland. July and August rain helped the dryland crop look better than in the previous few years.
- Panhandle: About 332,865 acres planted, split roughly half irrigated and half dryland, with late-season hail a concern.
For quick math on your own numbers, try the cotton yield calculator.
How yield shows up at the gin
Bales per acre times acres harvested is the volume a county's gins have to process. That's why a good dryland year matters so much on the High Plains: in 2025, Plains Cotton Growers estimated its 42-county area at about 2.5 million bales, up from about 2.23 million in 2024.
The top producing counties are also where gins are most concentrated. Browse the gins in each:
- Cotton gins in Lubbock County, TX
- Cotton gins in Hale County, Texas
- Cotton gins in Dawson County, TX
- Cotton gins near Lubbock and the South Plains
- Cotton gins in the Texas Panhandle
- Cotton gins in Jones County, Texas (Rolling Plains)
- Cotton gins in San Patricio County, TX (Coastal Bend)
- Cotton gins in Hidalgo County, TX (Rio Grande Valley)
To track how fast those bales are coming through the gins during harvest, see USDA Cotton Ginnings Report Explained.
Cotton markets, every trading day. Yield times price: the Texas cotton market read every trading day in The Cotton Wire. Subscribe to The Cotton Wire
FAQ
How many bales of cotton per acre does Texas average?
Texas upland cotton averaged 600 pounds of lint per harvested acre in 2025, about 1.25 bales. It was 656 pounds (1.37 bales) in 2024 and 618 pounds (1.29 bales) in 2023, per USDA NASS.
How many pounds of cotton are in a bale?
USDA reports production in 480-pound net weight bales. Actual running bales from gins averaged 491.5 pounds nationally in 2025.
How many bales per acre does irrigated cotton make in Texas?
It varies by county and water supply. In 2024, RMA final irrigated yields on the High Plains ranged from about 462 pounds per planted acre in Parmer County to 999 in Floyd County, or roughly 1 to 2 bales.
What is a good dryland cotton yield in Texas?
It depends heavily on rain and region. On the High Plains, 2024 dryland county yields per planted acre were under 100 pounds in many counties after drought. In the Coastal Bend and Blacklands, dryland cotton made 2 bales or more in the favorable 2025 season.
Why is Texas cotton yield lower than other states?
A large share of Texas cotton is dryland, especially on the High Plains, and drought regularly cuts yields or causes fields to be abandoned. In 2025, the Texas upland yield of 600 pounds compared with a U.S. upland average of 847 pounds.
How do you convert pounds per acre to bales per acre?
Divide pounds of lint per acre by 480. For example, 720 pounds per acre is 1.5 bales.
Sources
- USDA NASS. Crop Production 2025 Summary (January 2026): Texas and U.S. upland cotton planted and harvested acres, yield per harvested acre and production, 2023–2025; 480-lb net weight bale. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/cropan26.pdf
- USDA NASS. Cotton Ginnings 2025 Summary (May 2026): U.S. average net weight per running bale, 491.5 lb. https://esmis.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/release-files/795901/ctgnan26.pdf
- Plains Cotton Growers. "2024 Final County Yields Announced; 2024 STAX Payments Going Out" (June 2025), with table of 2024 USDA RMA final non-irrigated and irrigated county yields. https://www.plainscotton.org/2024_yields/ and https://www.plainscotton.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/STAX-2024_June16-TX-high-plains-5-1-156-1.pdf
- USDA RMA. Informational Memorandum PM-15-036 attachment: description of "Irrigated Total / Planted Yield" and "Non-Irrigated Total / Planted Yield" as acre-weighted averages of yields reported by insured growers. https://www.rma.usda.gov/legacy/bulletins/pm/2015/15-036.pdf
- Plains Cotton Growers. 2024-crop Upland Cotton Production (May 2025), county planted and harvested acres, yield per harvested acre and bales, based on NASS county estimates. https://www.plainscotton.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2024-PCG-Production-FINAL.pdf and https://www.plainscotton.org/cn250530/
- Plains Cotton Growers. "Lynn County Leads PCG's 2025 Cotton Production Estimates" (October 2026) and 2025 Production Estimates table. https://www.plainscotton.org/lynn-county-leads-pcgs-2025-cotton-production-estimates/ and https://www.plainscotton.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/PCG_2025_Production.pdf
- Texas A&M AgriLife Today. "Cotton crop thrives with timely rains across the state" (Sept. 3, 2025): regional yield and acreage reports, abandonment estimates. https://agrilifetoday.tamu.edu/2025/09/03/cotton-crop-thrives-with-timely-rains-across-the-state/
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. 2025 RACE Trials, South, East and Central Texas: note that table-top-ginned trial yields are generally higher than regional averages. https://varietytesting.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025-RACE-SouthEastCentral_Ver1.0a.pdf
