J&J Farms is a third-generation family farm that has been in operating in the San Joaquin Valley since 1949. They farm 7,300 acres of pima cotton and pomegranates and process tomatoes, wine grapes, and other commodities as well.
The farm was founded by C.W. “Bill” Jones and his wife, Cora Visman Jones, both World War II veterans and UC-Davis graduates. C.W. was instrumental in the creation of the Delta Mendota Water Authority, which overseas the Central Valley Project that transmits water to millions of acres of farmland and cities such as Los Angeles and San Diego. In appreciation of Jones’s years of service, the Jones Pumping Plant in Tracy, CA was dedicated to him in 2007.
In 1987, his son, William Leon Jones, worked as a member of the California State Assembly to author the bill that brought pima cotton to California. Prior to that time, California operated under the “One Variety Law” that gave California growers a small premium for their crop. Today, California grows nearly all of the US-grown pima thanks to his efforts.
Bill now manages the family farm, where pima is the only cotton they grow. With the help of his brother, Ron Jones, and his nephew, Darcy Villere, the family looks forward to many more years of providing pima to the world.
