Quote:
Originally Posted by joqua
Interesting. At one time "cotton was king" along the Rio Grande irrigation districts. And it was high-grad Pima cotton too. It was necessary to rotate planting with alfalfa every other year. I wonder how many of the cotton gins still exist in working order?
I'm not conversant on cotton's ups and downs but am guessing that other crops began being planted when cotton prices plummeted as a result of foreign competition. Onions were a big crop at one time.
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Read it and weave..
Cotton price chart, 2000-2010
Cotton is still a major crop in the river valley, as are onions, pecans and, of course, chile.
A lot of the gins have closed, being replaced by new, far more efficient plants. The one in Mesilla just closed a few years ago but it's still there and, at least in theory, could be reopened if needed.
A look at the chart linked above shows prices starting to come off their highs, but cotton is still very expensive by historical standards.