Cotton Industry Down In Central Valley

In the early 2000s Fresno County produced more cotton than anywhere else in the country but today it’s hard to find cotton farms in the Central Valley.

Cotton Farmer Paul Betancourt said "When I came out in 81 there was a million, a million and a half of acres of cotton and this year we’re looking at 160,170 thousand acres, it’s been cut way back."

Betancourt also said there’s a lot of open ground around his ranch the main reason being the lack of water.

A Professor at Fresno State said the cotton industry was impacted years ago when strict water regulations went into place. "To the point where we’re growing about a fifth than what we planted years ago," said Bruce A. Roberts.

It has even affected the Fresno State Agriculture Department because it has not grown cotton in the last two years. "This year because of our need to allocate the water in our dairy and our permanent crops in a crop like cotton, we can opt out of that in the rotation," Roberts said.

Like Betancourt they’re using the water to plant higher value crops like almonds and wheat, something that worries big clothing companies.

"We can grow very high quality cotton and the industry as a whole is trying to figure out if cotton continues to lose acreage in the valley, where are they going to find quality cotton?" Betancourt said.

For now farmers aren’t losing hope for more water and more cotton. They say supply, demand and the cost also play a big role in the decrease.