FTP using netrc file

I’m trying to write a script that will transfer files via FTP Automatically off of the crontab. I created the netrc file and stuck it in root dir. When I try to FTP to the site I’m still prompted for a usrname and passwd. I don’t want my script to have to go through the authentication. I want the netrc file to pass the necessary credentials to the remote FTP site. I want to get to a ftp> prompt and have the script start issueing ftp commands after that. How is that done?