NETWORK PLANNING & OPTIMIZATION The Cotton Valley Case Study The purpose of this study is to systematically lead the student through a complex realworld application of network techniques and sophisticated network solution procedures. It is hoped that by attacking the problem slowly, and in stages, the student will learn how to decompose complicated problems into smaller, more manageable subproblems. These subproblems can then be linked together to form a global model. The setting for the actual case was the Messilla Valley of New Mexico and the Upper Rio Grande Valley of El Paso County, Texas. This area was, and still is, heavily devoted to the farming and gin processing of cotton. However, during roughly a tenmonth period, cotton production decreased