ABSTRACT

The NCC asked me to talk today about changes taking place in our Industry and positioning for the future. I thought it might be useful to start with about sixty seconds spent on issues of the past and present.

Do you remember when classing cotton was an art and the only way to trade your cotton was by showing the actual samples? Do you remember when there were hundreds of cotton merchants to sell your cotton to?  Do you remember when your cotton seed didn’t have Roundup Ready or Boll Guard genes? Do you remember when China didn’t dictate our trade? Do you remember when the dollar was the only currency we were concerned about?   Do you remember when you had more decision making power over your farming operation than The World Trade Organization, Wal-mart, or Monsanto? Do you remember when our economy was measured by our manufacturing strength? Do you remember when business knew more about what was good for them than Robert Zoellick, the U.S. Trade Representative? Do you even know what a paper warehouse receipt looks like? I know you remember Boll Weevils.