Cotton fields were flooded by Harvey as well, destroying up to a half million bales of the crop. Even more production could see quality affected, which can drive up demand and prices for commercial-grade cotton.
Most of the damage was wrought in Texas, the source of half of all U.S. cotton, but the storm dumped rain across Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee, hurting crop quality in each of those cotton-growing states as well.
The USDA was projecting a record large nationwide cotton crop of 20.5 million bales this year, but the storm could end up affecting around 5% of the crop, which sent prices over 72 cents per pound for the first time since mid-June.