Editor’s Note

As members of the agricultural community, everyone works hard. You set lofty standards for yourselves because achieving goals is hardwired in your psyche. You consciously or unconsciously set the bar higher and higher and convince yourself if you try hard enough you can clear it. Easy peasy. And then, as is the nature of agriculture, you encounter things over which ... Read More »

Within a few years, California farmers will have to pay $15 an hour minimum wage and time-and-a-half overtime for anything over eight hours under new regulations. That is, if they can even find reliable workers. A number of producers have already turned to robotics to replace hand-hoeing crews in specialty crops, which have a higher per-acre value and a lack ... Read More »

As part of their daily routine, farmers stand in the fields looking up at the sky to try to determine what cards the weather is holding. They can’t control what is going to happen, but they can make decisions to prepare for the short-term effects or adjust their practices for what might happen in future growing seasons. On this month’s ... Read More »

Technology is a tool that when paired with know-how can change our lives for the better. Over the past century, technology has revolutionized cotton farming. The list is extensive, but this issue of Cotton Farming talks about a few examples. Joe West, assistant dean, University of Georgia Tifton Campus, has been at this facility his entire career. A centennial celebration ... Read More »

While interviewing University of Georgia cotton specialist Dr. Jared Whitaker about cotton blue disease, he wrapped up by saying, “The more people we have working on this issue, the quicker we can figure it out.” It occurred to me that this thought is a great endorsement for teamwork. And if you want to see teamwork in action, read the cover ... Read More »

Sometimes it’s fun to look back 10 years to see where we stand in relation to that time. In March 2009, former Cotton Farming editor Tommy Horton’s cover story was titled “Don’t Mess With Texas: Lone Start State Proudly Delivers Majority Of Crop.” He says, “The indicators are that more than half of the cotton planted in the United States ... Read More »

When Bon Jovi’s hit song “Livin’ on a Prayer” was released three decades ago, it quickly rose to the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 chart on Valentine’s Day 1987, according to Billboard. The lyrics particularly appeared to resonate with hard-working people trying to “hold on to what we’ve got.” Today, the phrase “livin’ on a prayer” has evolved ... Read More »