By Associated Press
Decatur, AL – Many Alabama farmers are reducing the number of acres devoted to growing cotton, a move that could cause cotton gins and warehouses to close.
Charles Burmester is an agronomist at the Tennessee Valley Research and Extension Center in Limestone County. He says the closure of gins and warehouses could make it difficult to return to cotton farming later.
Many farmers have switched to corn, wheat and soybeans because of the high cost of planting cotton. Burmester said that while rotating crops is good for soil quality and results in better yields, farmers need to keep cotton in the mix to keep gins and warehouses in business.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)