Cotton

Cotton, also called 'White Gold,' is the leading cash crop in Arizona. This means that out of all the crops farmed in Arizona, cotton earns the most money for the state. Additionally, it provides many farmers with jobs, resulting in the state producing almost 70% of the nation’s American Pima Cotton.

It has found a spotlight in Arizona’s history due to it’s exceptional number of uses. It is absorbent, soft, strong when wet, therefore, it takes well to laundering, and durable; there’s nothing quite like it. Cotton takes the fastest to dyes, holds its shape, resists fraying, and is adaptable to a wide variety of constructions and finishes. It is a universal material that can be found in the home or at the factory, an amazingly familiar fiber that has been grown since 3000 BCE.

The United States makes about 20% of the entire world’s supply. Cotton provides one-eleventh as much revenue as all meat animals, dairy products, all other livestock, poultry and eggs combined.

Mechanical cotton picking was introduced in 1886. The idea was improved upon later with a one and two row-drawn machine that could pick 4 bales of cotton (a bale is around 480lbs) in the time a combination of 10 men, women, and children could pick 1400lbs of cotton. The machine was drawn by horse, mule, or tractor and it did not take prolonged training to teach an ordinary farm laborer to operate the machine. Demonstrations of the machine were arranged for free in farming communities.

As many as 60,000 workers were required to yield the Arizona cotton harvest year after year. People from all over the country came for work. Arizona cotton growers paid better than most other states. By the early 1950’s, large mechanical cotton pickers handled the field work, thus, bringing the end to the era of cotton camps.

In 1899, the U.S. Department of Agriculture imported seeds from a long-fiber variety of Egyptian cotton called Mit Afifi. A.J. Chandler was the first to successfully grow this cotton. At research facilities, this cotton was blended with other cotton types, developing Yuma and Pima cotton; these are known as American-Egyptian cottons, and Arizona is famous for them.

In the early 1960’s, an experiment was conducted in west Chandler on Tschudy Ranch to improve cotton yield through plastic mulching. This experiment was sponsored by Spencer Chemical Company, a subsidiary of the Gulf Oil Corporation. It entailed planting cotton under a black plastic polyethylene sheeting, and within the first few weeks, the crop was germinating twelve days faster than the acres of cotton without plastic sheeting. The experiment was repeated in California, New Mexico, and Texas. Results showed an increase in soil temperatures, allowing a benefit to earlier cotton planting in the cool spring, an increased retention of moisture, preventing evaporation and cooling by evaporation. Additionally, it controlled weed growth, providing a favorable environment for cotton. A film was made on the experiment, presented as a commercial on NBC.

A cotton gin is used to clean seeds, debris, and dirt from the cotton crop. Gin, in this case, is short for “engine.” In the early 1920’s the cotton gins of Arizona provided clean cotton bales by the millions. There were three factories in Chandler, producing for the whole country on high demand. As of 2001, Arizona’s last cotton gin was closed.

The cotton plant has many uses. The cotton fibers can be separated from the seed, and the ginned fibers, now called lint, are pressed together to make bales. From each bale, a sample is taken to determine the class of cotton, according to length of fiber (staple), color, and cleanness. Cotton seeds are often sold to the oil mill; As of 2003, Arizona only uses it for animal feed. Cottonseed oil is no longer produced here.

Post World War 2, the price and consumption of cotton declined. This was in part to the prioritized production of rayon, a cheaper per-pound spinnable fiber, and the lack of military market, as 70% of the United States' cotton production was directed to the war effort. Research to develop new cotton products, improve old ones, sales promotion in domestic markets, production, processing, and recovery of exports were goals of the National Cotton Council’s Postwar Program. The cotton industry advertised to a demographic of housewives, teachers, packers, Congressmen, Senators, and U.S. officials to furnish the necessary funds to keep the industry alive.

Women who were between the ages of 19-22 would compete as models for selection to be that year’s Maid of Cotton. Upon selection, she would receive a $500 scholarship to her college, an all-cotton wardrobe, and a self-improvement course from Plaza Three Modeling and Finishing School. As a representative from Arizona, she would travel the state to represent the cotton industry in fashion shows and programs for local civic and agricultural groups. In the first alternate, she would receive an additional $100 savings bond and a $50 savings bond would be awarded at her second alternate.

Competing for the national title of Maid of Cotton occurred in Memphis, Tennessee. The Maid of Cotton selected here represents the American Cotton Industry. She is awarded with an original cotton wardrobe and a goodwill tour of the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan. Upon completion of the tour, she returns to Memphis where she is honored by Memphis District Ford dealers with a new automobile.