Farm Press High Cotton winner from the West produces high quality Pima cotton Making high quality cotton remains a commitment of brothers Erik and Phil Hansen and their cousin, Nis Hansen. The trio does this while farming diversified crops in and around the Corcoran, Calif. area. Much of their Pima cotton is grown in an ancient lakebed that was once the largest body of water west of the Mississippi River. Water diversions have long since left Tulare Lake dry, making it suitable for flood-irrigating cotton through a series of irrigation ditches that offer an efficient return of the unused water.