When Is Cotton Harvested in Georgia? Harvest Months for South Georgia

Short answer: Georgia cotton is harvested from late September into mid-December. USDA's usual dates put the start around September 23, the busiest stretch from about October 10 to December 2, and the finish around December 18. Fields are defoliated first and picked roughly two weeks later. Gins run behind the pickers: in 2025, Georgia gins were about half done by December 1 and 90% done by January 1.

Georgia's cotton harvest calendar

The standard reference is USDA's Usual Planting and Harvesting Dates (NASS, October 2010), which gives these ranges for Georgia cotton:

Source: USDA NASS, Field Crops Usual Planting and Harvesting Dates (October 2010).

So the practical answer to "what month is cotton harvested in Georgia" is October and November, with a start in late September and stragglers into December.

How a given year tracks depends on planting date, weather and how fast defoliation and picking go. For the week ending October 11, 2026, NASS reported Georgia cotton 16% harvested, up from 10% a week earlier and equal to the 2021–2025 average of 16%. Bolls were 89% open. Crop condition was rated 52% good to excellent, 30% fair and 18% poor to very poor.

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Where cotton is grown in Georgia

Georgia cotton is concentrated in south Georgia, and the gin data shows it. NASS counted 55 active cotton gins in Georgia for the 2025 crop. Most were in south Georgia counties such as Dooly, Colquitt, Brooks, Tift, Crisp, Coffee, Berrien, Mitchell and Decatur. A smaller group was in east Georgia counties such as Burke, Jefferson, Bulloch, Candler and Screven.

NASS publishes county totals only where they don't reveal a single gin's volume. For 2025, three Georgia counties had published figures:

Source: USDA NASS, Cotton Ginnings 2025 Summary (May 2026).

Georgia ginned 12.9% of all U.S. running bales in 2025, second to Texas. State totals over the past four crops were 2,616,150 (2022), 2,140,650 (2023), 1,886,850 (2024) and 1,740,400 (2025) running bales.

From defoliation to picking

Georgia cotton isn't picked straight off a green plant. Growers apply harvest aids to drop the leaves and open the remaining bolls first, and the timing of that step sets the harvest calendar.

When fields are ready to defoliate

University of Georgia Extension's Cotton Defoliation in Georgia (Circular 1281, 2024) lists three ways to judge maturity:

• Percent open boll: 60% to 75% open bolls. Use 60% only in a uniform crop.
• Nodes above cracked boll (NACB): four or fewer.
• Sharp knife test: cut into the uppermost boll expected to contribute to yield. The fiber should string out, and the seed coat should be brown with developed cotyledons inside.

UGA also advises treating only the acres expected to be harvested within the next 10 to 14 days.

Timing matters in both directions. Early defoliation reduces yield and micronaire. Late defoliation raises the risk of boll rot and of yield and quality losses from weathering. Cooler temperatures later in the season can also make defoliants work less well.

What happens if you defoliate too early

A UGA on-farm trial in east Georgia, reported in the September 2026 UGA Cotton Team Newsletter, compared four defoliation timings. Every treatment was harvested two weeks after it was defoliated. Defoliating two weeks early (at 20% open boll) cut yield by 42% compared with defoliating on time (60% open boll), and the early cotton had lower micronaire and discounts for immature fiber. Defoliating two or four weeks late showed no yield difference that year, which the authors attributed to favorable harvest weather.

From spray to picker

According to the same newsletter, a crop defoliated on time should be ready to harvest about two weeks later. Fiber uniformity and color can degrade if harvest is delayed for several weeks after defoliation. UGA's Camp Hand also put Georgia's last effective bloom date at about September 15. After that, a white flower is much less likely to become a harvestable boll. That's one reason growers stop pushing late cotton and move to defoliation.

Storm and rain risk at harvest

Hurricane Helene in 2024 showed how much is at stake once bolls are open. According to the Georgia Cotton Commission:

• Helene made landfall on September 26, 2024.
• The week before, USDA's Crop Progress report showed 68% of Georgia's cotton bolls open and only 1% of the crop harvested.
• UGA county agents collected 100 samples from 34 counties. Averaged across those samples, Georgia lost an estimated 32.6% of its cotton crop, with losses from 0% to 90% depending on location.
• Losses were more likely to be severe east of I-75.
• Against a pre-storm USDA projection of about 2.1 million bales, that implied roughly 684,600 bales lost.

Even without a hurricane, storms complicate picking. UF/IFAS Extension notes that in the Southeast, leaning or lodged cotton with intertwined branches is common after storms, which reduces picker efficiency.

Rain timing also affects defoliation itself. UGA's circular notes that rain after application can affect defoliant activity and lists rain-free periods for each product.

When Georgia gins run

Ginning follows harvest by days to weeks, and Georgia's gins run well into winter. NASS's biweekly data for the 2025 crop shows the pace. The October 1 and October 15 surveys weren't published because of the federal funding lapse.

Source: USDA NASS, Cotton Ginnings 2025 Summary (May 2026); shares calculated against the 1,740,400 final total.

That puts Georgia's main ginning push in November and December. Most of the remaining ginning wraps up in January.

Find a gin in Georgia

• Cotton gins in Colquitt County, GA
• Cotton gins in Dooly County, GA
• Cotton gins in Georgia: full list
• Farmers Gin & Peanut Co, Moultrie
• Dooly County Gin, Vienna
• Omega Gin Co, Tifton

For other states, see the Ultimate Guide to Cotton Harvest Timing by State.

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FAQ

What month is cotton harvested in Georgia?

Mostly October and November. USDA's usual dates run from about September 23 to December 18, with the busiest stretch from October 10 to December 2.

When is cotton picked in south Georgia?

On the same calendar: late September through mid-December, peaking in October and November. Fields are picked about two weeks after defoliation, which UGA recommends at 60% to 75% open bolls.

When is cotton planted in Georgia?

USDA's usual planting window runs from April 23 to June 11, with most planting from May 2 to May 31.

How long after defoliation is cotton picked?

UGA says a crop defoliated on time should be ready about two weeks later, and recommends treating only the acres that will be harvested within 10 to 14 days.

When do Georgia cotton gins run?

From early fall into winter. For the 2025 crop, Georgia gins had ginned about 22% of the final total by November 1, 55% by December 1 and 90% by January 1.

Where is cotton grown in Georgia?

Mainly in south Georgia, plus a band in east Georgia. In 2025, Dooly and Colquitt were the two Georgia counties with the largest published ginning totals.

Sources

1. USDA NASS. Field Crops Usual Planting and Harvesting Dates (October 2010): Georgia cotton planting and harvest dates. https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/vm40xr56k/dv13zw65p/w9505297d/planting-10-29-2010.pdf
2. USDA NASS. Crop Progress, released Oct 13, 2026: Georgia cotton harvested, bolls opening and condition, week ending Oct 11, 2026. https://release.nass.usda.gov/reports/prog4126.pdf
3. USDA NASS. Cotton Ginnings 2025 Summary (May 2026): Georgia state and county running bales, active gins by county, percent of U.S. total, biweekly 2025 series, funding-lapse footnote. https://esmis.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/release-files/795901/ctgnan26.pdf
4. Snider, J. L., and C. Hand. Cotton Defoliation in Georgia (Circular 1281). University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, Apr 23, 2024. https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=C1281&title=cotton-defoliation-in-georgia
5. UGA Cotton Team. Cotton Team Newsletter, September 2026: "Cutout and Agronomic Maturity" (Snider, Godara, Hand); "East Georgia Cotton Update and Defoliation Trial" (Parker); "The Final Push" (Hand). https://site.extension.uga.edu/applingcrop/files/2026/09/September-2026-Cotton-Team-Newsletter.pdf
6. Georgia Cotton Commission. "Cotton Losses from Hurricane Helene in Georgia," Oct 29, 2024. https://georgiacottoncommission.org/hand-cotton-losses-from-hurricane-helene-in-georgia/
7. Mulvaney, M. J., et al. Estimating Cotton Yield (SS-AGR-450). UF/IFAS Extension. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/AG450

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