00:00 While Kern County is known for being home to the production of corn, almonds and pistachios,
00:04 this year local farmers saw a decline in the number of acres they were able to plant for
00:08 cotton.
00:09 23 ABC's Briana Polk paid a local farmer a visit today to learn about why the production
00:14 of Pima cotton was impacted this year and what that means for consumers.
00:19 Right here behind me is acres and acres of cotton.
00:23 Typically here in the Central Valley, roughly 120,000 acres of cotton are grown.
00:27 But due to the wet winters that we saw earlier this year, that number dropped down to about
00:32 80,000 acres.
00:34 Water is such an important resource for farmers.
00:37 However, too much of it can be an issue for certain crops.
00:42 It's one of the lowest cotton acreages we've had in the history of California since we
00:45 started planting Pima.
00:46 Jake Halza is a fourth generation farmer in Kern County and says the previous winter rains
00:52 brought floods that farmers haven't seen in decades.
00:55 Very extreme winter, we've saw floods that we haven't seen in 40, 50 years.
01:02 I want to say the wettest winter since 1983.
01:04 Out in Bunn-Whitlow is where Halza grows acres of Pima cotton.
01:08 However, as a result of the heavy rains from earlier this year, many grounds for agriculture
01:14 in the Central Valley have become soggy, posing a challenge for some farmers.
01:20 Upwind side is around 20,000 and I think it stayed the same.
01:23 Mostly due to that flooding up north and this late rain that we had kind of diverted
01:29 people into growing different crops and unfortunately some not growing any crops at all.
01:36 Halza says he usually can plant around 500 to 600 acres of Pima cotton starting in April,
01:42 which is then harvested in October.
01:44 But this year, only 100 acres were able to be planted.
01:48 We run this water around 12 hours, have our guys check it every so often and once it gets
01:56 to the end of the field, we change it.
01:58 But soggy grounds aren't the only thing that has been impacted.
02:01 Halza says cotton prices have been as well.
02:04 Prices have decreased, high inflation has caused that and consumer spending has gone
02:09 down.
02:10 Pima cotton is more of a luxury item.
02:12 Prices at this time last year were around $3 a pound and right now they're around $2.
02:17 Halza says he doesn't believe the decrease of cotton acreage will raise the price of
02:21 cotton products in stores.
02:23 He says brands will always make their percentage.
02:25 However, he hopes the lack of supply is only short term.
02:29 Although heavy rain did impact the production of cotton, Halza says the unplanted acres
02:34 did not go to waste as they were used for different crops.
02:38 We're harvesting tomatoes right now, just finished harvesting carrots and harvest is
02:43 coming up and it's a great feeling to finish out that crop.
02:46 In Buttonwillow, Brianna Polk, 23 ABC News, connecting you.
02:53 Taking a closer look now at the history of cotton production in California, the State
02:57 Department of Food and Agriculture says cotton was introduced here by missionary padres in
03:02 the early 19th century.
03:03 High demand during World War I caused a cotton boom with a large increase in production in
03:08 the Central Valley.
03:09 Currently it's listed as one of the top five cotton producing counties in the state along
03:14 with Fresno, Kings, Merced and Tulare counties.
03:18 These counties produce more than 90 percent of cotton harvested in California.
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