About four million to four and one half million acres of cotton are grown annually in the Mid-South states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and Missouri. Both yield and quality have improved since 1989. The use of new varieties and other production, harvesting and ginning practices that promote the production of high quality fiber result in some Mid-South cotton approaching the quality of Westerngrown cotton. Producers, researchers, county agents and others surveyed showed that closer attention to several old and new production practices could result in both higher yields and higher quality fiber. Better timeliness of operations and financial management were stressed as essential to successful cotton production.