Cotton Continued from Page 7
is planted, Barcellos said a general rule of thumb predicts a 1% yield decrease. In addition, deadline to plant the variety and take advantage of crop insurance is April 30. Instead, the family planted more pro- cessing tomatoes this season because of attractive pricing, and the crop could be planted later. The late cotton planting has Barcellos concerned about harvest. Even if the crop is still growing and setting bolls in mid-Oc- tober, he said he planned to sacrifice ad- ditional yield so they can harvest it before expected rains. “I’m worried about the fall,” Barcellos said. “We have so much riding on this cot- ton being late—and our tomatoes as well. We’ll probably have to cut the (cotton) plants off and defoliate them and take what we can just so we can get across the acres.” With the continuing loss of California cotton production comes the shuttering of more gins—a huge concern for Isom. Once a gin is shut down, it will likely never process cotton again, he said. “One of the things that guys are find- ing is if equipment sits too long, we get people coming in and stealing wire, and that becomes a real challenge,” he said. “I think if a gin closes, you’re not going to see it come back.” In talking to ginner members this year,
Young cotton plants grow in a field near Los Banos. While plantings have dropped this year, California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association President and CEO Roger Isom says more acreage will return in 2024 if cotton prices improve.
Isom said one or two are considering closing. Currently, the valley is home to about 15 gins, which separate cotton fi- ber from seeds. Twenty years ago, 65 to 75 gins operated. Some of the reduction can be attributed to increased efficiencies, as it doesn’t take as many modern gins to process the same amount of cotton, Isom said. But most re- ductions are due to declining acreage. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, cotton was king in the San Joaquin Valley, maxing out at about 1.6 million planted acres. But
cotton lost its luster as prolonged droughts plagued the valley, irrigation water was permanently diverted for environmental demands and other crops offered higher potential returns. In 2022, California farmers planted 134,000 acres of cotton. Whether grow- ers come close to that in 2024 will depend partly on the price of pima at planting, Isom said. “If the price is back to where it was the last two years, we’ll be over 100,000 acres,” he said.
Barcellos also remains optimistic. “It looks like with the reservoir storage and water levels we have, if we have just an average winter, we should have the re- sources to plant cotton,” he said. “What really will determine that is the market,” he added. “Hopefully, we can see this market rebound. If that happens, I could see California being up possibly 50%. If we see a good number on the pric- ing, we could get back to 150,000 (acres).” (Vicky Boyd is a reporter in Modesto. She may be contacted at vlboyd@att.net.)
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8 Ag Alert July 26, 2023
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