Fertile river valleys made cotton king in Alabama, both agriculturally and economically, and Decatur’s Tennessee River location made it a key shipping point for this valuable commodity, writes Bayne Hughes on DecaturDaily.com.
Cotton remains a top economic driver despite competition from overseas and from other commodities.
Max Runge, of the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service, said the Tennessee Valley will lead the way as the state is on track to produce 1 million bales of cotton for the first time since 1955.
“Cotton was so popular in the Tennessee Valley that it seemed like it was a state law that farms had to plant cotton,” Runge said.
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