(AP) -- Cotton crops may be dwindling in the major cotton states, but planting is on the rise in Missouri.
The Southeast Missourian (http://bit.ly/M23uOb ) reports that farmers in the five Missouri Bootheel counties where cotton is grown will plant about 400,000 acres this year, up from 375,000 acres in 2011. The increase comes despite drought conditions in southeast Missouri, and as most other states that grow cotton are planting less.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the only other state projected to increase cotton production is South Carolina.
Part of the reason for cotton's decline nationwide is a recent drop in prices.
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