Retained hills are now a well-established management strategy in the Australian Cotton Industry. They provide the Industry with a unique strategy to control soil compaction, ensure long-term maintenance of the soil resource, and provide lower cost land preparation. Growers should be aware, however, of several potential management problems inherent in the system, especially as approximately 80% of irrigated cotton is now grown in retained hills. There are two potential problems: keeping compaction out of retained hills, and ensuring wheel compaction is removed if hills need replacing. The frrst part of the paper will address this. The answer to both lies in a working knowledge of wetting/drying cycles, that is the process that controls structure formation in most cotton soils. The second part of the paper will address this.