STARKVILLE – No matter the digital distractions, it’s difficult to drive in any direction in Mississippi and not spend at least some time contemplating the state of agriculture and forestry in this state.
Despite the push for manufacturing jobs, agriculture/forestry is still Mississippi’s top industry. Based on data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, around 260,000 Mississippians – roughly 17 percent of the state’s total workforce – derive their income from agriculture directly or indirectly.
There are 10.9 million acres in the state dedicated to agriculture and another 19.7 million acres in timber production. There are some 37,100 farms in the state, with an average size of around 290 acres – but about 4,500 of those farms are larger than 500 acres. For perspective, in 1910 there were an estimated 275,000 farms in Mississippi.
But there are challenges facing Mississippi agriculture. In 2014, Mississippi agriculture was a $7.9 billion industry. The Office of Agricultural Communications at the Mississippi Cooperative Extension Service at Mississippi State University at year-end each year produces a highly-anticipated series of crop reports and analyses that reflect specific details on the state’s year in agriculture broken down by major commodities.
What the combined work of those writers reflect is that while agriculture remains a powerhouse in Mississippi’s economy, market forces had an impact on overall agricultural values. For a detailed look at the year-end crop reports, visit http://msucares.com/news/print/headlines.html
MSU agricultural economist Brian Williams told MCES writers: “Yields are down nearly across the board from last year’s records. It’s not that the yields were necessarily bad this year; rather, the bar was set very high last year in terms of yields,” he said. “Additionally, most prices are at or below year-ago prices.”
Government payments added $199 million to the state’s agricultural value. When these funds are included, agriculture brought an estimated $7.4 billion to the state, down 4.5 percent from 2014’s $7.9 billion performance.
Poultry ($3.2 billion, up 3.4 percent) and forestry ($1.16 billion, up 13.5 percent) continue to be Mississippi’s leading cash crops. The state’s poultry export numbers declined, but egg prices soared based on national market forces.
Soybeans were the state’s top row crop and third best agricultural commodity at ($930 million, down 26 percent), but lost some $370 million in value from 2014’s performance.
Among other crops, Williams reported peanuts and sweet potatoes were increasingly successful crops in the state and the both were expected to see increases next year.
MSU associate forestry professor James Henderson told MCES writers that an increase in new home construction was credited with increases in the state’s forestry values in 2015: “Continued improvement in the U.S. economy has resulted in an improvement in the U.S. housing market, which has been the biggest influence on the rise in the value of forest products. As of October, housing starts have more than doubled from the record low following the Great Recession of 2007-2009.”
Record yields (46 bushels per acre in 2015 compared to 52 bushels per acre in 2014) in the state’s soybean crops for the past four consecutive growing seasons impacted prices, which Williams said fell precipitously this year: “We are expecting a marketing year average of around $8.87 per bushel compared to $11.10 a bushel in 2014.”
What does it all mean? Consider what Mississippi looks like without the $7.4 billion impact of agriculture and forestry, plus the additional $2.7 billion annual economic impact of hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities.
The rural farm and timber sites visible from our windshields in Mississippi aren’t really pastoral scenery, they are the livelihoods of one-in-five Mississippians. And a thought for the new year – it is estimated that if everyone in Mississippi bought $5 a week in Mississippi farm produce, the state’s economy would improve by some $774 million in new farm revenue.
Eat local, buy local, indeed.
(Sid Salter is a syndicated columnist. Contact him at sidsalter@sidsalter.com)