Short answer: Texas cotton harvest runs from July into January. It starts in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in July, works up the coast through August and September, and finishes on the High Plains (Lubbock, the South Plains and the Panhandle) from October through December. In a slow year it runs into January. USDA's usual dates for Texas put the start around August 10, the busiest stretch at September 13 to December 21, and the finish around January 11.
That's the whole state. The month that matters to you depends on where you're standing.
Texas isn't one cotton crop. It's several, planted months apart, on very different ground.
Texas cotton harvest by region
| Region | Usual harvest window | What the record shows |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Rio Grande Valley | July into August | Texas A&M says the first bale in the Valley is harvested in July. In 2025, Valley and Coastal Bend harvest was about 80% done by early September. |
| Coastal Bend (Corpus Christi area) | July/August into September | In 2024, harvest was "about wrapped up" by August 20. In early September 2025, Coastal Bend gin yards were full and running around the clock. |
| Upper Gulf Coast | Late summer into fall | Harvest had begun by early September 2025. |
| Blackland Prairie and Brazos Bottom | September onward | In early September 2025, AgriLife said Blacklands defoliation would be in full swing in the coming weeks. |
| Rolling Plains, Concho Valley and Panhandle | Mostly November | AgriLife: harvest aids typically go out in October, and most harvest in these regions starts sometime in November. |
| South Plains / Lubbock | October through December, sometimes January | Texas A&M: the season finishes in December on the High Plains. On November 7, 2025, the High Plains was about 25% harvested. |
Those windows come from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and USDA. Weather moves them every year, so read them as "usually," not "always."
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Why the Valley finishes before Lubbock gets going
It comes down to planting dates.
Texas A&M's cotton program put it plainly: when it's planting time in the Rio Grande Valley in February, it might be snowing on the High Plains. And when the first Valley bale comes off in July, Rolling Plains growers have just finished planting.
So the harvest moves north with the calendar. Texas A&M describes the season as about six months long, from July in the Valley to December on the High Plains. Many custom harvesters follow it north every year.
The Coastal Bend can start early too. In 2024, AgriLife reported a large share of the Coastal Bend crop was planted in late February.
Strippers, pickers and the trip to the gin
How the cotton comes out of the field depends on the region, too.
In Texas, almost all cotton on the High Plains, Rolling Plains and Blacklands is stripped. The Coastal Bend, Upper Gulf Coast and Lower Rio Grande Valley use a mix of pickers and strippers (Texas Farm Bureau).
Either way, the seed cotton gets built into modules in the field and hauled to the gin. The gin dries it, cleans it, pulls the lint off the seed and presses it into bales. Then a sample of every bale goes to a USDA classing office.
The High Plains: harvest aids, freezes and patience
On the High Plains, harvest timing comes down to two things: harvest aids and the first hard freeze.
Growers apply defoliants and boll openers to get the crop ready to strip. Texas A&M AgriLife's 2025 Cotton Harvest Aid Guide gives the general rule: don't apply them sooner than 60% open boll. For most crops that's about four nodes above the uppermost cracked boll.
Some growers also wait on a killing freeze to dry the plants down. That can work, and it can also leave cotton standing.
The 2024 season showed the downside. Plains Cotton Growers reported that Lubbock's first official freeze didn't come until November 20, which local meteorologists called the fourth-latest on record. And it wasn't cold enough for long enough to dry the plants down. Several gins shut down for a while after running out of cotton, and muddy yards made it hard to move modules to the feeder.
In 2025 the High Plains was "probably close to 25% harvested" as a region on November 7, according to AgriLife's Ken Legé in Lubbock. The Panhandle was closer to 50%.
For the Lubbock area, the practical answer is October through December, with the weather deciding the exact weeks.
Where 2026 stands
USDA's weekly Crop Progress report tracks Texas harvest as a percent of acres.
For the week ending October 11, 2026, Texas cotton was 38% harvested, ahead of the 2021–2025 average of 34%. Bolls were 75% open, against a 76% average.
That's a statewide number, and it blends a coast that's long finished with a High Plains crop that's just getting started.
When the Texas gins run
Harvest and ginning overlap, but they aren't the same thing. A module can sit on the yard for weeks before it hits the feeder.
USDA's Cotton Ginnings 2025 Summary gives the scale:
- 150 active gins in Texas in 2025
- 5,280,150 running bales ginned in Texas, 39% of the U.S. total
- 562,150 running bales in Lubbock County, the top U.S. county with a published figure
- 488,950 running bales in San Patricio County on the Coastal Bend
The timing shows up in the same report. Using USDA's twice-monthly numbers, Texas had ginned about 34% of its 2025 crop by November 1, about 59% by December 1, about 86% by January 1 and about 98% by February 1.
The coast is long finished by the time High Plains gins hit their stride.
To find a gin near you:
- Cotton gins near Lubbock and the South Plains
- Cotton gins in the Texas Panhandle
- Cotton gins in Lubbock County, TX
- Cotton gins in San Patricio County, TX (Coastal Bend)
- Cotton gins in Hidalgo County, TX (Rio Grande Valley)
- Cotton gins in Hill County, Texas (Blackland Prairie)
- The full list of cotton gins in Texas
For the other cotton states, the guide to cotton harvest timing by state covers the rest of the Belt.
Cotton markets, every trading day. Harvest timing sets the tone for Texas cotton prices. The Cotton Wire brings you the market every trading day. Subscribe to The Cotton Wire
FAQ
What month is cotton harvested in Texas?
Somewhere in Texas, cotton is harvested every month from July through December, and sometimes into January. USDA's usual Texas dates put the busiest stretch at mid-September through late December.
When is cotton harvested in Lubbock, Texas?
Around Lubbock and the South Plains, harvest usually runs from October through December. Harvest aids and the first hard freeze set the pace, and a late freeze or a wet fall can push it later.
When is cotton harvested in South Texas?
The Lower Rio Grande Valley starts in July. The Coastal Bend follows in July and August and is often mostly done by early September.
When is cotton harvested in Central Texas?
It depends on which part. The Blackland Prairie and Brazos Bottom were getting ready for harvest in September in 2025. Around San Angelo and the Concho Valley, AgriLife says most harvest starts sometime in November.
When is cotton harvested in the Texas Panhandle?
Mostly in November and December. AgriLife says Panhandle harvest aids typically go out in October, with most harvest starting in November.
Why does Texas cotton harvest take so long?
Texas plants cotton from February in the Valley to early summer up north. The crop that's planted first comes out first, so the harvest stretches across about six months.
Sources
- USDA NASS, Field Crops Usual Planting and Harvesting Dates (Agricultural Handbook 628, October 2010), All Cotton, Texas: harvest begins Aug 10, most active Sep 13–Dec 21, ends Jan 11. https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/vm40xr56k/dv13zw65p/w9505297d/planting-10-29-2010.pdf
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Cotton, "Texas Is Cotton Country" (archived Oct 21, 2013): Valley planting in February, first bale in July, a season about six months long from July in the Valley to December on the High Plains, custom harvesters moving north. 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 and Valley about 80% harvested; Upper Gulf Coast harvest begun; Blacklands defoliation ahead; harvest aids in October and most harvest in November for the Central, Rolling Plains and Panhandle regions; Coastal Bend gin yards 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; Coastal Bend crop largely planted in late February. https://agrilifetoday.tamu.edu/2024/08/20/cotton-crop-faring-better-than-past-two-drought-years/
- Texas Farm Bureau Table Top, "How is cotton harvested?" (Nov 2020): stripper and picker use by Texas region. https://tabletop.texasfarmbureau.org/2020/11/how-is-cotton-harvested/
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, 2025 Cotton Harvest Aid Guide (Texas High and Rolling Plains): apply no sooner than 60% open boll, which is about 4 nodes above cracked boll. https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/2025-Cotton-Harvest-Aid-Guide.pdf
- Plains Cotton Growers, Cotton News, Nov 22, 2024: Lubbock's first official freeze Nov 20 (fourth-latest on record, per KLBK); gins shutting down for lack of cotton; muddy yards. https://www.plainscotton.org/cn241122/
- Plains Cotton Growers, Cotton News, Nov 7, 2025: High Plains about 25% harvested, Panhandle about 50% (Ken Legé, AgriLife). https://www.plainscotton.org/cn251107/
- USDA NASS, Crop Progress, Oct 13, 2026 (week ending Oct 11): Texas cotton 38% harvested vs. 34% average; 75% bolls open vs. 76%. https://release.nass.usda.gov/reports/prog4126.pdf
- USDA NASS, Cotton Ginnings 2025 Summary (May 2026): Texas 150 active gins, 5,280,150 running bales (39.0% of U.S.); Lubbock County 562,150; San Patricio County 488,950; biweekly cumulative ginnings (percentages by date calculated by cottongins.org from those tables). https://esmis.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/release-files/795901/ctgnan26.pdf
