Yu-Pima Cotton Initiative · Yuma, Arizona

Grow it here. Spin it here.

A practical plan to connect western cotton, Yuma talent, and American manufacturing through a modern domestic spinning facility.

Application & progress Download the brief
Concept image of a modern cotton spinning facility in Yuma
Concept visualization · Proposed Yuma spinning facility
EDA
Current position: application in federal review

EDA requested additional documentation through its curing process. GYEDC submitted the requested updates; no final grant award has been announced.

Application update
August 31, 2026
EDA application & progress

Feasibility first. Investment later.

Greater Yuma Economic Development Corporation (GYEDC) is the lead applicant for a study of whether Yuma County can support a competitive Western U.S. cotton spinning operation.

Submitted feasibility-study application

Study the decision before building the mill.

The proposed work would give public partners, industry participants, and future investors a documented basis for a Go/No-Go decision and a practical implementation roadmap.

  • MarketDemand, buyers, pricing, and supply-chain opportunity
  • Financial & operationalCapital needs, operating costs, technology, and scenarios
  • WorkforceSkills, training gaps, and education partnerships
  • Site & infrastructurePower, water, wastewater, gas, broadband, zoning, and readiness
  • LogisticsFreight access, interstate connections, rail, and border corridors
  • GovernanceOwnership and public-private operating options
  • ImplementationPermitting, financing pathways, phasing, and a Go/No-Go recommendation
Two different decisions: the current EDA application concerns a feasibility study. The application's preliminary $40–75 million range describes potential later private capital investment in a mill, depending on study findings and facility scale; it is not the amount of the EDA grant.
Why the project matters

One missing link. Three opportunities.

America grows premium cotton, but much of its spinning value leaves the country. A Yuma mill would reconnect the chain.

01 · Growers

A nearby customer

Create a potential long-term domestic market for western cotton and reduce dependence on distant export demand.

02 · Manufacturing

The missing step

Restore ring-spinning capacity in the western United States and convert American fiber into higher-value yarn.

03 · Yuma

Year-round industry

Build technical skills, attract supporting businesses, and create durable manufacturing employment.

Parallel local groundwork

Keep preparing while review continues.

These practical steps can proceed independently; they do not presume EDA approval or funding.

1

Open a field office

Find an affordable base near Yuma-area cotton gins and the proposed facility area.

2

Confirm local needs

Meet with the city, schools, utilities, growers, and gins to confirm power, water, workforce, cotton supply, and site requirements.

3

Build the facility plan

Turn the findings into a practical budget, schedule, and site-readiness package.

Federal funding status: GYEDC's feasibility-study application remains under review. No EDA grant funds have been awarded or received.
What the study and local work will answer

Turn assumptions into local facts.

The work is designed to convert assumptions into documented requirements for an informed Go/No-Go decision.

PowerAvailable capacity, service requirements, upgrade needs, timing, and indicative cost.
WaterAvailability, process requirements, wastewater considerations, and service responsibility.
CottonRegional volume, grades, seasonality, storage, handling, transportation, and supply relationships.
WorkforceRequired skills, recruiting pathways, technical training, apprenticeships, and partner capacity.
SiteLeasing options, zoning, road access, utilities, expansion potential, and development timeline.
CapitalField-office costs, infrastructure needs, working capital, equipment sequence, and next-stage budget.
The location

Why Yuma works.

Cotton, transportation, workers, and room to build come together in one place.

CottonClose to growers and gins in Arizona and the western cotton region.
AccessInterstate 8 and Union Pacific connect Yuma to major markets.
WorkforceLocal schools can help prepare people for skilled manufacturing jobs.
RoomIndustrial sites and Foreign Trade Zone 219 support future development.
From study to investment

One application. Separate future decisions.

The application now under review is for feasibility work. Construction and workforce investments would require later decisions and separately secured capital.

1 · Study · Under review

Test feasibility

Evaluate the market, sites, costs, operations, workforce, logistics, governance, and implementation options.

2 · Decide

Make a Go/No-Go decision

Use independent findings to determine whether and how a Yuma facility should advance.

3 · Invest · Future

Finance a facility

If the findings support development, pursue private capital and any separately approved public support.

Today: The feasibility-study application is under review and no EDA funding has been awarded. The potential $40–75 million mill investment is a preliminary future private-capital range, not an EDA grant.
Industry support

Rooted in the cotton community.

The initiative is supported by organizations and operators who understand Arizona cotton and the need for domestic demand.

Letter of support received

Arizona Cotton Growers Association

Arizona Grain Research & Promotion Council · Jadee Rohner, Executive Director

Letter of support received

Yuco Gin, Inc. II

Yuma, Arizona · Robert Holman, General Manager

Evidence, assumptions, and important qualifications
  • Yuma unemployment: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics / FRED, Yuma MSA.
  • U.S. cotton export share: USDA Economic Research Service.
  • FTZ #219: Greater Yuma Economic Development Corporation.
  • Facility imagery is a concept visualization, not a photograph of an operating ASW mill.
  • Employment, facility, infrastructure, and commercial outcomes remain project estimates.
  • The August 31, 2026 status reflects EDA correspondence regarding a curing request and GYEDC's reported response; the private correspondence is not reproduced.
  • EDA funding remains subject to completion of federal review and award procedures.
  • Nothing on this page represents an EDA award, federal commitment, or guarantee of funding.
  • The potential $40–75 million future mill investment is a preliminary private-capital range, not an EDA grant amount.

Help turn local knowledge into a facility-ready plan.

Investors, manufacturers, growers, educators, and regional partners are invited to help shape the next practical step.

Contact DanielView project status