Photos: Cotton harvest underway in Marana
Cotton has been one of the cornerstone crops of Arizona. The harvest is underway at farms in Pima and Pinal counties. Dan Pacheco of Pacheco Farms Management said roughly 1,150 acres of cotton will be harvested on his farm this year – about 30-40 acres day – through December. The 18,000-pound bales (or modules) of cotton will then be transported to the Sunshine Cotton Gin in Eloy for processing and distribution. The Pacheco family has been farming cotton since the 1950s.
Cotton Harvest
A picker drives through the Pacheco Farm's cotton field as farmhands harvest the crop on in Marana, on Oct. 28, 2020.
Cotton Harvest
Farmhands at Pacheco Farms cover a bale of cotton harvested from the in Marana, on Oct. 28, 2020. The 18,000-pound bale (or module) will be transported to Eloy for distribution.
Cotton Harvest
A farmhand tosses loose cotton into the module builder while harvesting at the Pacheco Farm in Marana, on Oct. 28, 2020.
Cotton Harvest
A farmhand opens the back gate of the module builder where cotton is compacted into a bale while harvesting the plants at the Pacheco Farm in Marana, on Oct. 28, 2020.
Cotton Harvest
Farmhands wrap a bale of cotton in a tarp while harvesting at the Pacheco Farm in Marana, on Oct. 28, 2020.
Cotton Harvest
Farmhands wrap a bale of cotton in a tarp while harvesting at the Pacheco Farm in Marana, on Oct. 28, 2020.
Cotton Harvest
A farmhand operates the module builder where cotton is compacted into a bale while harvesting the plants at the Pacheco Farm in Marana, on Oct. 28, 2020.
Cotton Harvest
A bowl buggy dumps a load of cotton into the module build at the Pacheco Farm in Marana, on Oct. 28, 2020.
Josh Galemore
Photojournalist
The Marana City Council named Terry Rozema as town manager on Tuesday.