Cotton Fest
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Come Sept. 22, the Kern County town of Shafter will be celebrating its roots in the cotton business. A state historical marker will be dedicated that morning at the 100-acre site where scientists first determined 75 years ago that the San Joaquin Valley could yield a premium cotton crop.
The facility, now known as the University of California Shafter Research and Extension Center, was established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1922 to develop a cotton industry. Today, California growers produce $1.5 billion a year of some of the world’s finest cotton on 1 million acres. Most of it is exported because it is considered too expensive for the domestic textile industry.
Martha Groves can be reached by fax at (213) 473-2480 or by e-mail at martha.groves@latimes.com
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