Organic matters

It's all about the soil. A group of cotton farmers in Alabama is getting some religion with regard to organic farming. An increase in organic matter (chicken manure, primarily) to the soil -- apparently some of the oldest cotton lands in the state -- has, in turn, increased cotton yields significantly -- much to the farmers' surprise. In an industry (food and cotton alike) so seeped in chemicals, it's hard to break the habit. According to this UK association, more than a quarter of the world's insecticides are used on cotton crops. It's a frightening fact. Yet if organic methods can come to mean bigger yields and profits for more and more farmers, it might just turn the tide on this chemical wave.