>> Family farming in America has seen a dramatic change in the past century.

Technology and mechanical innovation have, of course, prompted major changes, but family considerations also play a role in how and if family farmland is handed down from one generation to the next.

Choosing a career path for one young man meant time away from his family's farming tradition.

But his return to farming brought him back with new ideas.

It also impacted his relationship with his father in growing cotton and other crops, sustainably and successfully.

♪♪ >> Particularly in this area of the world, we are very much are Mother Nature's hands.

This wheat is screaming it needs to come out of the field.

>> Steele Byrum knows you can't rush nature.

That's just a fact about farming.

But not long ago, this Virginia native wasn't even sure about choosing this way of life.

After college, Steele got a well-paying job with a major food company.

But something drew him back to the soil... and to a family business stretching back four generations.

>> The generation gap between my grandfather and me, he could work harder than his neighbor and make a viable living.

My ability to make a living farming is going to be a lot more of outsmarting markets and being a step ahead of what's going on worldwide.

(Crosstalk) >> Being a step ahead... of nature, or of world commodity prices is one of the many things Steele's learning from his father.

He's now growing wheat, cotton and soybeans on his farm just down the road from his dad.

Cecil Byrum says he didn't demand or even expect his son to return to farming.

But he admits to quietly rejoicing when it happened.

>> There's nothing that I know of that is more honorable than having a son that wants to do what you did to make a living.

I think it's very important because nobody's going to have a more vested interest in the future of a farm than a family member.

>> Today's a pretty typical day.

All of the morning's best-laid plans are quickly changing.

They'd hoped to harvest the winter wheat, but the seeds and the ground are still too moist from recent rains.

Instead, they'll spray some much-needed fertilizer on their cotton fields.

It's a crop that's making a comeback in Virginia.

The Byrums invested heavily in cotton after worldwide competition started impacting Virginia's peanut-growing industry.

It's a safer bet than corn during the years when the rain is scarce.

>> This area of the world, they say you're never more than ten days away from a drought.

We have very fertile, very productive soil, but it's very thirsty land.

>> Walk the fields with Steele Byrum, and you quickly discover some of farming's many challenges.

Varying soils with different water needs.

And, threats like this fast-growing "pigweed."

>> We can see some pigweeds starting to break ground here.

This pigweed is going to grow 26 inches tall and it's going to shade out your cotton and you won't even know there's a cotton field here.

>> For the Byrums, modern farming means going easy on the environment.

They practice no-till farming, where residue from the last crop is left on the ground to prevent erosion, provide more soil nutrients, and reduce evaporation.

>> And modern technology, like GPS positioning, means using no more than what's needed to feed the soil and fight pests.

It's called "precision agriculture".

>> There's nobody that has more of an interest in a safe, sound, secure environment than the farmers and the rural areas to protect their areas, protect it for our families, and for our neighbors.

♪♪ >> With all of farming's challenges, this father and son must share resources.

They've also learned this family's future requires consensus when tough decisions demand it.

And, it is strengthened by a closeness common to this way of life.

>> It really is a mixture of new ideas and old ideas.

It's the family thread that brings you back together, bonds you together.

>> Farming is a labor of love.

It's been good, it's been good for me, it's been good for my family life.

It's a huge responsibility, and I take a lot of joy and pride in trying to keep it going.

>> It's thought that early Egyptians were the first to grow cotton commercially.

But cotton was being grown in diverse locations from Latin America to India some seven thousand years ago.

Cotton is used in clothing, cattle feed, Q-tips and cash.

U.S.

dollars are 75% cotton, 25% linen.