editor's note

In many industries, competition is an ingrained part of an entity’s culture in which a person strategizes about how to move themselves forward or upward to achieve their individual goals. The agriculture industry is more of a collaboration among...

The Mid-South Farm and Gin Show is celebrating its 71st anniversary in 2023. I don’t remember the beginning of the show, but I recall walking the aisles for many years at different stages of my life. As a kid...

In football, “icing the kicker” is a ploy the opposing teams’ coaches have used for years in clutch field goal situations. It involves calling a time out either before the kicking team sets up, right after they set up...

F or most of my childhood, I grew up about 10 miles west of Vidalia, Louisiana, where the Mississippi River bridge crossed over to Natchez, Mississippi. But when I was about 2 years old, we actually lived in Vidalia for...

Spending the early morning hours out on a cotton farm or in university or industry test plots is a time for reflection, for watching. By definition, observation is the process of observing something carefully to gain information.  Observing different cotton...

It was a sobering moment when I read the article on page 10 in which it was reported that the United States is expected to harvest its lowest number of cotton acres since the 19th century, according to an...

The phrase “the long, hot summer” may bring to mind the 1958 movie directed by Martin Ritt or Tennessee Williams’ play titled “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” For cotton farmers, the 2022 season is shaping up to create...

Why should you study history? According to the Department of History, University of Wisconsin-Madison, “Because history gives us the tools to analyze and explain problems in the past, it positions us to see patterns that might otherwise be invisible...

“Life is like a roller coaster. It has its ups and downs. But it’s your choice to scream or enjoy the ride.” I’ve seen this quote used many times although I can’t confirm where it originated.  When you climb aboard...

In the spring, my grandmother, Bea, loved to plant flowers in her garden. As a young child, I remember the smell of fresh dirt and the warmth of the sun as she patiently shook the little seeds out of...

Technology continues to move the agricultural industry forward and make a tough job like farming a little easier. For those who have been in the farming business for a while, one of the first technological conveniences you may recall...

Sometimes when closing out an issue of Cotton Farming, it occurs to me that “Easter eggs” are figuratively embedded throughout the magazine. Although they were not placed there by design, nonetheless, there they are. And each one this month...

We’re almost to the end of this long 2013 season, and by the time many of you read this issue of Cotton Farming, we’re hopeful that the cotton crop will have been harvested in a timely fashion – even if it was a couple of weeks late. You might say this was another wild roller coaster ride of a season with unpredictable weather in nearly every region except the West.

By Tommy Horton Editor Sometimes we can learn more about farmers and ginners by spending an entire day with these folks and tracing their steps during a typical work day. In other words, unless we can understand the numerous decisions made...

By Tommy Horton Editor Every now and then, we meet producers who remain steadfastly committed to growing cotton – regardless of how enticing market conditions might seem for another commodity. Make no mistake about it. These farmers aren’t being ruled by...