Cotton industry shrinks in Southern California due to pests, overseas competitors

The cotton industry of Southern California is fading away after decades of success due to the rise of overseas producers, a tightening water supply and pests, Rebecca Cathcart of The New York Times. (In an NYT photo by Sandy Huffaker, Bobby Reed works at Planters Ginning Co., which will close soon due to fewer farmers growing the crop.)

"Pest infestations in recent decades caused a decline in cotton acreage, and the decline accelerated as fuel costs soared and urban centers like San Diego, about 90 miles to the west, pushed for a larger share of the state’s stretched water supply," Cathcart writes. "Cotton is a water-intensive crop, and the fields here are irrigated by canals that draw from the Colorado River, the source of drinking water for much of Southern California."

Total cotton acreage in California has dropped by 50 percent in the last five years, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "Farmers are turning to alfalfa hay, corn and wheat, commodities that require less irrigation and have been dipped in gold by the competing demands for biofuel and cattle feed," Cathcart writes. These crops are far more lucrative, but the transition is still tough for farmers who have spent their lives growing cotton. Bobby Reed works for Planters. With China and India now increasing cotton production, the California cotton is shrinking fast. (Read more)