** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** COTTON IS THE NUMBER ONE FIBER CROP IN THE WORLD, WITH FIBER BEING THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF INCOME FOR GROWERS. HOWEVER, SEED IS ALSO A VALUABLE CO-PRODUCT OF FIBER PRODUCTION USED FOR CATTLE FEED OR FOOD PROCESSING PURPOSES. IMPORTANTLY, OIL IS THE MOST ECONOMICALLY VALUABLE COMPONENT OF SEED. ITS CONTENT IN COTTON SEED CAN BE ALTERED BY CULTIVAR SELECTION AND PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENT, WHICH COULD AFFECT ECONOMIC RETURNS FOR THE PRODUCER AND MAY INFLUENCE SEEDLING VIGOR FOR THE SUBSEQUENTLY PLANTED CROP. HOWEVER, THE EXTENT TO WHICH CULTIVAR SELECTION AND PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENT CONTRIBUTE TO THE TOTAL VALUE OF THE CROP (FIBER, OIL, AND PROTEIN) AND SEEDLING VIGOR OF THE SUBSEQUENTLY PLANTED CROP HAS RECEIVED VIRTUALLY NO ATTENTION IN THE PEER REVIEWED LITERATURE. THE RESEARCH PROPOSED HERE WILL ADDRESS THIS GLARING KNOWLEDGE GAP BY USING A COMBINATION OF SMALL-PLOT AND LARGE-SCALE ON-FARM RESEARCH TO SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS THE EFFECTS OF CULTIVAR SELECTION AND PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENT ON FIBER YIELDS, SEED COMPONENT YIELDS, AND VIGOR AND YIELD OF SUBSEQUENTLY PLANTED CROP. THIS WILL MAXIMIZE CROP VALUE FOR THE PRODUCER (HIGH OIL YIELDS WITHOUT FIBER YIELD PENALTIES) WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY ENSURING THAT SEED PRODUCED IN THESE HIGH-YIELD ENVIRONMENTS EXHIBIT ACCEPTABLE VIGOR AND PRODUCTIVITY FOR COTTON GROWERS.