5 C's - Cotton Needs A-Pickin'

Photo by Lisa E White

Every Arizona fourth grader can tell you the 5 C's of Arizona's Economy - Cotton, Cattle, Citrus, Copper and Climate.   Arizona's cotton industry boomed in WWI when Scottsdale was still a farming community, and cotton was in high demand.  In Scottsdale, cotton was grown for making tires.  During this boom,  long-staple Egyptian cotton replaced most other agriculture, even taking prime dairy acreage.  Arizona developed a blend of Egyptian long-staple and other cottons to form Pima Cotton, a soft, highly absorbent long-staple variety named after the Pima Indians that still have the land that borders Scottsdale.  I love watching the crops grow along Pima Road, especially this time of year as farmers harvest cotton, corn and alfalfa.  Cotton loves the Arizona climate, and is making a bit of a comeback, though it will not beat out the "climate" industry of tourism or the new sixth "C" of computers in the economy of Scottsdale.  Over $165 million and about 3,000 jobs are added to the economy of Arizona from cotton.