The American Pima market class was the result of government efforts to enable United States farmers to compete in the "Egyptian cotton" market. Circa 1900, the United States led in production of all the major market classes except Egyptian. H. J. Webber and others in the United States Department of Agriculture believed Egyptian long-staple would thrive under irrigation in the deserts of the southwestern United States. On behalf of the USDA, David Fairchild visited Egypt in 1902 and brought back a few Egyptian cultivars. A USDA team led by Thomas H. Kearney selected among these cultivars, and after a decade of refinement, released the first cultivar successful in the southwestern United States. This cultivar was named "Yuma", after the Arizona town near the experiment station where it was developed. Kearney's second successful cultivar was "Pima", named after the Gila River Pima Indian Reservation, the home of the experiment station where it was developed. Pima dominated irrigated lands in the southwestern United States from 1918 to as late as 1941, when other cultivars became more popular.