Editor’s Note
Cotton Farming
Carroll Smith
EDITORIAL/PRODUCTION Editor Carroll Smith csmith@onegrower.com Managing Editor Vicky Boyd vlboyd@onegrower.com
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The Importance Of ‘Being In Charge’
s parents, we get busy with our own responsibilities — typically work-related — and realize we must depend on our kids, the younger generation, to help out at times. You must “put them in charge” of something. I was reminded of this two times yesterday. The first was when I was talking to my daughter in Texas. Their washing machine had broken down, which meant the repairman had to pay them a visit. As it turned out, he said he could be at their home later in the afternoon. Of course, the adults were both at the office, and the older son was at baseball practice. This meant the younger son, Shep, would be in charge of waiting for the repairman and letting him in to see if he could get the washer running again. About 4:45 p.m., Shep called his mom to tell her the man had arrived. He proudly said, “I showed him where our washing machine is and told him it had ‘started acting up’ last night.” This may seem like a small task in the big scheme of things, but it was an important step in subtly teaching responsibility. My young grandson appreciated being trusted enough to take care of this chore in the absence of his parents. The second time I was reminded about the importance of putting a young person in charge was while watching a YouTube video featured in the Peanut Grower e-newsletter. It opened with a young man named Randy sitting in the driver’s seat of a dump cart in the middle of a peanut field. At the beginning of his narrative, he let viewers know his daddy was trusting him to run the dump cart that day while they were in the heat of peanut picking season. You could hear the pride in his voice. He said his older brother typically had this responsibility, but he was out for the day on personal business. Randy was so excited about his new-found importance that he began offering advice about how to pick peanuts to his dad and the other workers via the twoway radio. Instead of ridiculing the suggestions, his dad calmly explained they wouldn’t work. For example, when Randy asked his dad how fast he was running the picker, his father said, “I am running at 2.2 mph.” The young man came back with, “I have a buddy who says he runs 6 mph, so you might want to bump it up some.” His dad patiently replied, “Son, there is no way you can pick 3-ton peanuts at 6 mph.” Randy considered what his father said and appeared to nod his head in agreement. It had been a teachable moment. As you go through planning season this winter, think of some jobs you can assign to the younger generation to help nurture their sense of responsibility. Put them in charge and watch them grow.
Carroll If you have comments, please send them to: Cotton Farming Magazine, 7201 Eastern Ave., Germantown, TN 38138.
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COTTON FARMING | NOVEMBER 2021
Southeast Editor Amanda Huber ahuber@onegrower.com Art Director Ashley Kumpe ADMINISTRATION Publisher/Vice President Lia Guthrie (901) 497-3689 lguthrie@onegrower.com Associate Publisher Carroll Smith (901) 326-4443 Sales Manager Scott Emerson (386) 462-1532 semerson@onegrower.com Production Manager David Boyd dboyd@onegrower.com Audience Services Kate Thomas (847) 559-7514 For subscription changes or change of address, call (847) 559-7578 or email cottonfarming@omeda.com EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD David Burns – North Carolina David Lynch – South Carolina Bob McLendon – Georgia Larkin Martin – Alabama Mike Sturdivant Jr. – Mississippi Charles Parker – Missouri Jimmy Hargett – Tennessee Allen Helms – Arkansas Jay Hardwick – Louisiana Ronnie Hopper – Texas Ron Rayner – Arizona John Pucheu – California
ONE GROWER PUBLISHING, LLC Mike Lamensdorf President/Treasurer Lia Guthrie Publisher/Vice President ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COOPERATION: Cooperating with COTTON FARMING are various cotton producer organizations across the Cotton Belt. Many representatives of producer organizations serve on COTTON FARMING’s editorial advisory board. Opinions expressed and conclusions reached by contributors are not necessarily those of the cooperating organizations or the editors. All statements, including product claims, are those of the person or organization making the statement or claim. The publisher does not adopt any such statement or claims as its own and any such statement or claim does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the publisher. Copyright 2021 © ASSOCIATED PUBLICATIONS – One Grower Publishing, LLC also publishes RICE FARMING, THE PEANUT GROWER, SOYBEAN SOUTH and CORN SOUTH.
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