BUTTONWILLOW, Calif — While Kern County is known for being home to the production of corn, almonds, and pistachios, this year local farmers saw a decline in the number of acres they were able to plant in cotton. Typically, Kern farmers grow roughly 120,000 acres of cotton, but due to the wet winter we started 2023 with, that number has dropped this year to about 80,000 acres.
Water, such an important resource for farmers, can also become an issue for certain crops if there's too much of it.
"It's one of the lowest cotton acreages we've had in the history of California since we started planting Pima," said 4th generation Kern County farmer Jake Cauzza.
Cauzza says the previous winter's rains brought the kind of flooding Kern farmers haven't seen in decades.
"Very extreme winter," said Cauzza. "We saw floods that we haven't seen in 40, 50 years. I want to say the wettest winter since 1983."
Cauzza grows acres of Pima cotton out in Buttonwillow, but as a result of the heavy rains earlier this year, much of the ground dedicated to agriculture in the Central Valley has become "soggy," posing a challenge for some farmers.
"Our upland side is around 20,000 and I think it stayed the same, mostly due to that flooding up north and this late rain that we had, kind of diverted people into growing different crops and, unfortunately, some not growing any crops at all," said Cauzza.
Cauzza says he can usually plant around 500 to 600 acres of Pima cotton starting in April, which is then harvested in October, but this year, he was only able to get 100 acres down.
"We run this water for around 12 hours. We have our guys check it every so often, and once it gets to the end of the field, we change it," said Cauzza. "We try not to lose any water into the drains and use water as efficiently as possible. This is all Kern River water that we are watering with right now."
But soggy grounds aren't the only thing that has been impacted. Cauzza says cotton prices have been changing as well.
"The prices have decreased. High inflation has caused that, and consumer spending has gone down. Pima cotton is more of a luxury item," said Cauzza. "Prices at this time last year were around $3 dollars a pound and right now they're around $2."
Cauzza says he doesn't believe the decrease in cotton acreage will raise the price of cotton products in stores. He says brands will always make their percentage, however, he hopes the lack of supply is only short-term. Although heavy rain did impact the production of cotton, Cauzza says the unplanted acres did not go to waste, as they were used for different crops.
"We're harvesting tomatoes right now. Just finished harvesting carrots," said Cauzza. "When harvest is coming up, it's a great feeling to finish out that crop."
