From time to time over the years a few farmers have addressed you from this platform and asserted that they have never lost any money farming. I cannot make that statement. In fact, I often wonder if I have not lost more money over the years than 1 have made. Though I don't see how that could be true and yet still be in the farming business.

When I first started raising cotton, I took what I would call an aggressive stance. I did everything I could think of or that others could tell me which promised to make the highest yields possible. It took me less than ten years to get caught up short, and I have been less arrogant and more humble ever since. I was running risks I didn't realize I was running. Those are the worst kind. I think now of my posture as a defensive one. I want to create conditions that will allow my crop to do its best if the season develops that way, but I also want to be able to take a Sunday punch and survive if that is the way things go.