If you know what not to do then your cup is half full, instead of half empty. When Dr. Bob Metzer called me and asked if I would speak on my production methods during the 1962 crop year, I immediately told him I would have to think about speaking because everything I did cotton production wise in 1982 was wrong. I finally decided that by emphasizing what not to do, then you at: least would not make the same mistakes I did.

With costs continuing to soar, prices we sell for weakening, and recession, depression, strong American dollar--or whatever you want to blame it on--it's just difficult to make money on the net plus side, growing cotton.

As a result of these factors, the farmer immediately starts trying to find more ways to cut production costs. He can't control the weather, and he doesn't have any control over world cotton production and its related prices; therefore, he falls back on the one thing that he feels he can have some degree of control over, production costs.