Dr. Will McCarty, extension cotton specialist at Mississippi State University, said switching from cotton can be a difficult move.
Growers typically plant cotton on the best land, which also rents for higher prices.
Sharkey County grower Joel Hill agreed, but said he had no alternative than to leave cotton. 1996 was the 25th year he had been growing cotton. While yields and returns have been steadily dropping since 1991, land rent has not. If I ever go back to cotton, I might look into hiring a custom harvester. Hill attributes the declining yields to years without rotation.