Marana: Cotton Acreage Up, Prices Down

Cotton harvest going strong in S. Arizona

ARIZONA DAILY STAR 5/22/09

141,000 Acres of cotton planted this year in Arizona
3.8% Increase in Arizona cotton acreage from 2008
9 million Acres of cotton planted across the U.S.
61 cents Average price per pound U.S. farmers received for cotton in 2008
45 cents Average price U.S. farmers received in 2009, through August

SOURCES: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Cotton Council

That’s not snow you see in the fields along the roadways— the cotton harvest is in full swing in Southern Arizona and across the state.

Though the crop is small compared to cotton’s heyday in the state, Arizona farmers planted 141,000 acres of cotton this year, up nearly 4 percent from 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Agricul­ture.

Plantings are up despite low­er prices for cotton much of this year.

Prices on cotton futures con­tracts topped 90 cents per pound over much of the first half of 2008 before plunging below 50 cents after the global economic meltdown in Octo­ber, according to data from the Intercontinental Exchange, or ICE.

Futures prices have been volatile since then, recently re­bounding to about 67 cents for the near-term December con­tract, ICE data show.

Faced with lower prices, farmers like Pat Pacheco of Pacheco Farm Management in Marana are keeping a tight rein on costs.

“We’ve had to continue find­ing ways to cut costs,” Pacheco said. “We’re farming more land to spread out our costs.”

“We’ve had to continue finding ways to cut costs. We’re farming more land to spread out our costs.”

Pat Pacheco

Marana farm manager