When Is Cotton Harvested in North Carolina? Harvest Months in Eastern NC

Short answer: Cotton in North Carolina is harvested from late September into December, with most of it picked between mid-October and mid-November. USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) lists the usual harvest window as September 30 to December 15, with the busiest stretch from October 10 to November 15. In 2026, harvest was running a little behind normal: 41% of North Carolina cotton was picked by November 1, against a 2021–2025 average of 44%.

North Carolina cotton harvest dates at a glance

NASS's usual planting and harvesting dates for North Carolina upland cotton:

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

So when is cotton picked in NC? Mostly from mid-October through mid-November. Early fields can start in late September, and late fields or wet years can push the last picking into December. NASS's usual start date for North Carolina (September 30) is a week or more later than Georgia's (September 23) or Mississippi's (September 15).

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How the 2026 North Carolina harvest is running

NASS's weekly Crop Progress report tracks the share of the crop harvested:

Source: USDA NASS Crop Progress, October 13, October 26 and November 2, 2026.

The 2026 crop started early. In a September 10, 2026 update, NC State Extension cotton specialists Guy Collins and Keith Edmisten wrote that most of August had been very hot and dry, that more cotton than normal had been planted in April, and that boll opening began in the last week of August. They expected the crop to be ready for defoliation "noticeably earlier than normal." Harvest then slowed in October, and by November 1 the state had nearly caught back up to its five-year pace.

Where cotton is grown in North Carolina

North Carolina cotton is grown in the Coastal Plain, mostly in the northeastern counties along the Roanoke River and the Albemarle Sound, with a second group in the southeastern counties near the South Carolina line. According to NASS's Crop Production 2025 Summary:

The 2025 yield of 1,169 pounds is about 2.4 bales per acre (1,169 ÷ 480). (NASS's later county estimates put the 2025 state total at 639,000 bales and 1,115 pounds per acre.)

NASS county estimates show where the cotton is:

Source: USDA NASS, North Carolina Cotton County Estimates (2024–2025). Bales are 480-lb equivalents. NASS withholds some counties to protect individual operations.

Halifax County led the state in 2024. Northampton led the published counties in 2025, followed by Edgecombe, Martin, Hyde and Perquimans. Robeson and Sampson are the largest of the published southeastern counties.

Defoliation and harvest timing in NC

Harvest dates in North Carolina are set by defoliation. NC State Extension's guidance for 2026 boils down to a few rules:

• Check boll maturity. A crop at about 60% open bolls and four nodes above cracked boll can typically be defoliated. The safest check is to slice the uppermost harvestable bolls: when the seed coat is dark and the boll is hard to cut, those bolls should open safely.
• Don't get ahead of the pickers. Defoliate only as much as you can harvest 2 to 2.5 weeks later. NC State says no tank mix holds back regrowth well beyond two weeks after application.
• Finish defoliating by mid-October. NC State's research shows little gain, and more risk, in delaying the last fields past mid-October, because few useful heat units accumulate after that and the average first frost arrives in late October to early November.
• Harvest in October when possible. Once November arrives, rain takes longer to dry, effective picking hours per day drop, and lint weight starts to decline after repeated frosts or rains.
• Pick sunny days. Defoliants work better when sprayed on a sunny day followed by another sunny day, and NC State advises against defoliating when wet weather is expected to last more than a couple of days, since burrs that can't dry out lead to hardlocked bolls.

Picking, modules and hauling

Many North Carolina growers now pick with harvesters that build round modules on board. NC State notes that these "baler pickers" give growers in peanut country a chance to keep up with both crops instead of letting cotton wait. A round module weighs about 4,500 to 5,500 pounds of seed cotton, according to USDA-ARS engineers, and makes about four bales of lint from picked cotton. See cotton module weight for the math, and how a modern cotton gin works for what happens once the module reaches the gin.

Hurricane and rain risk

Tropical weather is the big fall risk in eastern North Carolina. NC State's advice is consistent: open bolls are vulnerable, and closed bolls are protected. If a tropical storm is approaching and a field still has a meaningful number of unopened bolls, the specialists say not to defoliate until it passes. A slightly cracked boll is likely to hardlock in a storm, and a fully open boll is likely to be lost to weathering. Only fields that are nearly all open, with the rest very mature, should be defoliated ahead of a storm, and only if they can be picked before it hits.

Rain without a storm also matters. Moisture after defoliation can trigger regrowth, which NC State said growers were contending with in early October 2026. In an October 8 update, the specialists noted that dried regrowth in modules can mean worse leaf grades, while green material raises staining and module-moisture concerns. Their first advice was to talk to your ginner about how quickly those modules can be ginned, and to check module temperatures often. For how weather shows up in your classing data, see how to read your USDA cotton classing report.

When North Carolina gins run

North Carolina gins start up in October and run well past the end of picking, working through modules stored in the yard. As of October 8, 2026, NC State reported that not many gins had begun ginning yet. The NASS Cotton Ginnings summary for the 2025 crop shows the pace:

So North Carolina gins do most of their work from November through December, and some run into January. NASS counted 26 active gins in the state for the 2025 crop, including three in Halifax County, which ginned 70,700 running bales. By October 15, 2026, North Carolina gins had processed 14,450 running bales, compared with 5,600 at the same date in 2024. See the USDA Cotton Ginnings report explained and cotton ginning season by region.

To find a gin, start here:

• Cotton gins in Halifax County, NC, including Edwards Cotton Co. in Scotland Neck, Enfield Cotton Ginnery and Davis Cotton Gin in Hobgood
• Edgecombe Cotton Growers in Tarboro and Gaston Co-op in Garysburg
• Cotton gins in North Carolina: full list

For other states, see when cotton is harvested in Georgia, Texas and Mississippi, or the ultimate guide to cotton harvest timing by state.

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FAQ

What month is cotton harvested in North Carolina?

Mostly October and November. USDA NASS lists the usual harvest as September 30 to December 15, with the busiest period from October 10 to November 15.

When is cotton planted in NC?

NASS lists the usual planting window as April 20 to June 1, with most planting between May 1 and May 20.

How far along is the 2026 North Carolina cotton harvest?

NASS reported 41% harvested for the week ending November 1, 2026, slightly behind the 2021–2025 average of 44%.

Where is cotton grown in North Carolina?

In the Coastal Plain, mainly the northeastern counties. Halifax, Bertie and Northampton were the top producers in 2024, according to NASS county estimates.

How long after defoliation is cotton picked in NC?

NC State Extension recommends defoliating only what you can pick about 2 to 2.5 weeks later, since regrowth control fades after two weeks.

Should I defoliate cotton before a hurricane?

Usually not. NC State advises holding off if a field still has many unopened bolls, because closed bolls are protected and open ones are exposed to wind and rain.

Sources

1. USDA NASS. Field Crops Usual Planting and Harvesting Dates (Agricultural Handbook 628, October 2010): North Carolina upland 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 October 13, 2026): cotton harvested, weeks ending October 4 and 11, 2026. https://release.nass.usda.gov/reports/prog4126.pdf
3. USDA NASS. Crop Progress (released October 26, 2026): cotton harvested, weeks ending October 18 and 25, 2026. https://release.nass.usda.gov/reports/prog4326.pdf
4. USDA NASS. Crop Progress (released November 2, 2026): cotton harvested, week ending November 1, 2026. https://release.nass.usda.gov/reports/prog4426.pdf
5. USDA NASS. Crop Production 2025 Summary (January 2026): North Carolina upland cotton acres, yield and production, 2023–2025. https://release.nass.usda.gov/reports/cropan26.pdf
6. USDA NASS. North Carolina Cotton County Estimates (2024–2025). https://www.nass.usda.gov/sites/default/files/Statistics_by_State/North_Carolina/Publications/County_Estimates/Cotton.pdf
7. Collins, G., and K. Edmisten. "Defoliation Strategies for 2026." NC State Extension (September 10, 2026): crop condition, timing, timeliness, mid-October cutoff, weather. https://cotton.ces.ncsu.edu/news/defoliation-strategies-for-2026-collins-edmisten/
8. Collins, G., and K. Edmisten. "Adjust Defoliation Strategies for Expected Weather." NC State Extension (October 1, 2026): rain, regrowth, two-week limit. https://cotton.ces.ncsu.edu/news/adjust-defoliation-strategies-for-expected-weather-collins-edmisten/
9. Collins, G., and K. Edmisten. "What can be done for regrowth when cotton is ready for harvest?" NC State Extension (October 8, 2026): regrowth, leaf grades, talk to your ginner, gin start-up. https://cotton.ces.ncsu.edu/news/what-can-be-done-for-regrowth-when-cotton-is-ready-for-harvest-collins-edmisten/
10. Collins, G., and K. Edmisten. "Management Strategies When Tropical Weather Approaches." NC State Extension (September 25, 2025). https://cotton.ces.ncsu.edu/news/management-strategies-when-tropical-weather-approaches-collins-edmisten/
11. USDA NASS. Cotton Ginnings 2025 Summary (May 2026): North Carolina running bales by date, active gins, Halifax County ginnings. https://release.nass.usda.gov/reports/ctgnan26.pdf
12. USDA NASS. Cotton Ginnings (released October 22, 2026): running bales ginned by state to October 15. https://release.nass.usda.gov/reports/ctgn4326.pdf
13. Funk, P. A., and J. D. Wanjura. "Seed Cotton Unloading Systems." Journal of Cotton Science 21:51–59 (2017): round module weight. https://doi.org/10.56454/zjjg4144
14. Delhom, C. D., et al. "Evaluation of Practices to Unwrap Round Cotton Modules." Journal of Cotton Science 27:90–101 (2023): bales per round module. https://www.cotton.org/journal/2023-27/2/upload/JCS27-090.pdf

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