Cotton makes a comeback as tomato acreage decreases
By Vicky Boyd California’s cotton acreage is expected to make a huge rebound this season, spurred by lower prices for competing crops and receding Tulare Lake levels. But pima cotton, the premium variety predominantly grown in the state, has its own market challenges and has endured depressed prices for more than two years. With a potentially larger crop this year, the outlook for a market bump isn’t good. “Pima has been really tough for grow- ers,” said Merced County farmer Aaron Barcellos, who farms diversified crops near Dos Palos. If growing conditions are ideal this summer, the pima crop could yield roughly 550,000 to 600,000 500-pound bales, adding more supply to an already sluggish market. “It would be really tough sledding, and we’re all really concerned,” Barcellos said. In its March 28 prospective plantings re- port, the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service forecast 160,000 acres of cotton in California this year, up from 99,000 acres in 2023, the lowest in state history. Based on an internal member sur- vey, the Fresno-based California Cotton
Ginners and Growers Association predicts even more cotton—166,000 acres—will be planted, said association President and CEO Roger Isom. Of that, 135,000 acres will be pima, also known as extra-long-staple, or ELS, varieties. The remainder is upland varieties. Unlike the rest of the U.S. Cotton Belt, most of the state’s upland cotton is grown for seed. Nationwide, growers are expected to plant about 10.6 million acres of mostly upland varieties this year, up about 4% from 2023, according to the USDA forecast. Isom pointed to two main reasons for the state’s expected larger cotton acreage this year: In 2023, processing tomato can- neries aggressively courted producers with record-high contracts of $138 per ton. This lured many away from cotton and into to- matoes, he said. But tomato canneries contracted for fewer acres at $112.50 per ton this year, and garlic prices are lower. This made cotton more attractive, Isom said. In addition, last year’s near-record rains and the reappearance of Tulare Lake flooded thousands of acres of histor- ic cotton ground. Water levels have since receded, opening much of that ground to planting again. Barcellos said he doubled his cotton
Cotton plants grow in a field in Merced County near Los Banos. California’s cotton crop is expected to surge this year as farmers switch to the fiber instead of growing processing tomatoes.
acres this year compared to 2023, because of economics and few alternative crop options. In addition, he lost a processing tomato contract. “I had to find something to do with that ground,” he said. Merced County farmer Cannon Michael, president of the family-owned
diversified Bowles Farming Co. near Los Banos, said his conventional cotton acres are up about 9% this year, while organic acres are up about 150%. He increased organic acreage because land he was transitioning to organic became certified this season.
See COTTON, Page 4
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