My Turn

Like many, I am the product of a cotton farmer — a very successful cotton farmer. Successful, not wealthy. A dirt farmer, not a planter. Our father, the son of a sharecropper. He told me at an early age, “Whatever you do, don’t farm.” Upon our dad’s passing during my junior year of high school, I heeded his advice. My ... Read More »

We at Cotton Farming would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the My Turn column through the years. Many of our readers have told us this is their favorite page in the magazine. As we embark on a new year, we pause to reflect on last year’s submissions and invite more members of our “cotton family” to tell ... Read More »

I am from Golden Meadow in South Louisiana — the land of swamps, moss, shrimp and crawfish. Outside of seafood, sugarcane was the main plantation-harvested food. The first time my family and I traveled through an area with cotton fields, I asked, “Is this snow?” As a young girl, I began sewing with my grandmother and won many 4-H competitions. ... Read More »

I love cotton. I come from three generations of cotton folks, but not on the farming side. Both sets of my grandparents worked in central Alabama cotton mills — Avondale Mills to be exact. My father’s parents worked in the Pell City mill, and my mother’s parents worked in the Sylacauga mill. The tradition of working in cotton mills continued ... Read More »

I’ve always enjoyed reading “My Turn” for the personal insights and common experiences shared by those of us associated with cotton. While cotton experiences serve as the warp of these personal stories, the weft is always enriched by individuals who color and give texture to the fabric of our individual lives. Most often they are relatives who help shape our ... Read More »

Although I was born in the suburbia of our nation’s capital, my parents shouldn’t have been surprised I ended up in agriculture. My dad grew up on a subsistence farm in Pennsylvania, and mom’s grandfather owned the only gin in Leslie, South Carolina. After my parents got engaged, the U.S. Department of Agriculture transferred my father, who worked for the ... Read More »

Motor Cooking & Other Reflections I began scouting cotton in 1978 after my dear grandmother saw an ad in the local newspaper soliciting cotton scouts to work for the Phillips County, Ark., Cooperative Extension Service. After working there for three summers, I began managing the insecticide screening plots at the Cotton Branch Experiment Station in Marianna. Upon graduating from the ... Read More »