Nick McMichen likes to stay ahead of the curve. The diversified, tech savvy fifth-generation Alabama farmer is well known in the U.S. cotton industry for his leadership and his combination of old-school-meets-innovative ways of handling his farming operation, which is located at Centre, in the northeast part of the state.

McMichen, 47, is the recipient of the 2018 Farm Press/Cotton Foundation High Cotton Award for the Southeast states. This is the 24th year of the awards honoring farmers who combine outstanding production with a concern for the environment.

Much of what McMichen does technically on his farm has been published over the last few years in Farm Press. We’d be glad to point you to what we’ve done to share the technological nuts and bolts of his operation, or the details of how he farms, and we’ll talk about some of them in this story.

But what is his true secret to success? Or if success’ is too strong a word, what’s his way of making a go at it? The answer is: He questions what he should be doing, he is involved with his industry locally and nationally — and he likes data, being connected, and sharing.