COSTS, YIELDS, AND NET RETURNS, COMMERCIAL NO-TILL COTTON PRODUCTION, MISSISSIPPI, 1999

An analysis of a 1999 sample of ten no-till producers indicates that over a reasonable range of cotton lint prices, no-till cotton production may result in larger net returns per acre than conventional tillage. However, the authors caution that additional analysis based on a larger sample of commercial no-till growers on better cotton soils is needed.no-till, spindle harvest, cost of production, yield, Production Economics,

The Right to Engage in Interstate and Foreign Commerce as an Individual or as a Corporation

There are two circumstances that seem to me to tend to obscure a discussion of the right to engage in interstate or foreign commerce. One is the existence of the constitutional provision conferring on Congress power to regulate such commerce; the other, the circumstance that such commerce is commonly carried on rather by corporations than by individuals. For the present, let us ignore these two circumstances, and assume the commerce clause to be non-existent; also, that all interstate and foreign commerce is carried on by individuals exclusively, and not at all by corporations. In short, let us transport ourselves pro tanto into medieval conditions. We shall find the right to engage therein to be well established. In Hoxie v. N. Y., N. H. & H. R. Co., it was said by Baldwin, C.J., in a well considered opinion: The right to engage in commerce between the States is not a right created by or under the Constitution of the United States. It existed long before that Constitution was adopted. It was expressly guaranteed to the free inhabitants of each State, by the Articles of Confederation, and impliedly guaranteed by Article 4, §2, Const. U. S., as a privilege inherent in American citizenship

The Use and the Abuse of the Commerce Clause

The visible universe, from the giant constellation down to the infinitesimal corpuscle, is in a condition of eternal movement, or, we may say, a condition of eternal transportation. Indeed, there seems to be no phenomenon more universal than this transportation. But we are to here consider it merely as a phenomenon of life, in particular, of human life. In common with other higher animals, man possesses organs that characterize him as a being eminently fitted for transportation; his arms; his legs; even his vocal organs, fitted for transportation (or transmission) of the intangible, that is, of intelligence communicated from one being to another. And some of the animals inferior to man, such as the camel, the elephant, and the horse, are, by their physical constitution, eminently fitted for transportation of men and tangible articles. We need not speak in detail of the artificial aids to transportation, gradually, sometimes even painfully, acquired, during the long period of progress through barbarism to higher civilization; the cart, the boat, the ships, the locomotive, the automobile, the telegraph, the telephone. Perhaps it would be scarcely an exaggeration to say that the record of progress in civilization is little more than a record of improvement in transportation of persons and property. Certainly, throughout human history, whatever the social institutions, whatever the form of government, men have always enjoyed liberty of transportation from place to place, even though frequently, as in the case of the medieval serf, or the slave in the rice swamps or cotton fields, within narrowly prescribed limits. There never was a time in the history of imperial Rome, when, generally speaking, freemen did not enjoy perfect liberty of transportation, of themselves, or of property, from Jerusalem to Rome, or from Athens to Alexandria

The Gibbons V. Ogden Fetish

It was, we believe, Huxley who once said something to the effect that, as soon as one becomes an authority in science, he becomes a nuisance. In many a field of human activity, we find illustrations of the influence of a great name in retarding the progress of thought. Cuvier and Agassiz furnish notable instances in the realm of natural science. For centuries the great authority of Galen operated to paralyze progress in medicine. Still better known are instances of supposedly infallible individuals, or organizations, or writings, in retarding progress in theology. The same influence has notoriously operated in jurisprudence. Not to go outside of England, the names of Blackstone, Mansfield and Eldon immediately suggest themselves. But we are here specially concerned with the influence of three opinions of Chief Justice Marshall delivered in cases involving the effect of the commerce clause: Gibbons v. Ogden, decided in 1824; Brown v. Maryland, in 1827; Willson v.Black Bird Creek Marsh Co., in 1829. Now Marshall\u27s service as Chief Justice continued from 1801 until 1835, that is, from the age of forty-five until seventy-nine. Conceding the great merit of his constitutional opinions delivered in the earlier years of his career, is it an the reasonable conjecture that these three opinions belong to the period of his intellectual decadence? But we forbear to urge this consideration

COSTS, YIELDS, AND NET RETURNS, COMMERCIAL ULTRA-NARROW ROW COTTON PRODUCTION, MISSISSIPPI, 1999

An analysis of a 1999 sample of 13 no-till producers indicates that over a reasonable range of cotton lint prices, ultra narrow cotton production may result in larger net returns per acre than conventional production practices. The largest percentage cost reduction is in fixed expenses. In general, total direct expenses per acre are also reduced, although UNRC usually results in higher seed and chemical expenses. UNRC has a lower total cost per pound compared to conventional cotton.UNRC, No-Till, cost of production, yield, stripper, harvest, Production Economics,

THE IMPACT OF CURRENT COTTON PRICE AND PRODUCTION COSTS ON SKIP-ROW COTTON

According to conventional wisdom, low prices favor skip-row planting patterns while high prices favor solid planted cotton. Production costs have been trending upward for many years. Current high production costs have redefined the point at which a low price becomes a high price relative to skip-row versus solid planting pattern decisions. Growers considering a shift from solid to skip-row cotton must be able to produce high yields, more than 90% of the solid yield on a land acre basis.cotton, no-till yields, returns, Production Economics,

ALTERNATIVE COTTON PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

Mississippi cotton farmers are adjusting to the current problem of low cotton price and high cotton production cost by modifying the way(s) they have traditionally grown cotton. This paper compares seven alternative production systems to the costs and returns associated with the conventional or traditional system labeled "solid cotton, 8-row equipment." Systems that combine wider equipment (less labor and machinery time per acre) with reduced tillage technology appear to offer opportunities to increase returns. Specific adjustments on individual farms will probably be dominated by the distribution of soil types.conservation tillage, ultra-narrow, no-till, skip-row, costs, returns, Production Economics,