Agriculture in Mississippi

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Agriculture forms an important part of the economy, society, and history of the American state of Mississippi. From colonization until the American Civil War agriculture in Mississippi was dominated by a plantation based cotton production system which relied on enslaved labor.

Contents

History

Mississippi's rank as one of the poorest states is related to its dependence on cotton agriculture before and after the American Civil War, late development of its frontier bottomlands in the Mississippi Delta, repeated natural disasters of flooding in the late 19th and early 20th century that required massive capital investment in levees, and ditching and draining the bottomlands, and slow development of railroads to link bottomland towns and river cities. [1] In addition, when Democrats regained control of the state legislature, they passed the 1890 constitution that discouraged corporate industrial development in favor of rural agriculture, a legacy that would slow the state's progress for years. [2]

Slaves picking cotton while being observed by an overseer on horseback, c. 1850 Cotton pickers and overseer around 1850.jpg
Slaves picking cotton while being observed by an overseer on horseback, c. 1850

Before the Civil War, Mississippi was the fifth-wealthiest state in the nation, its wealth generated by the labor of slaves in cotton plantations along the rivers. [3]

Largely due to the domination of the plantation economy, focused on the production of agricultural cotton, the state's elite was reluctant to invest in infrastructure such as roads and railroads. They educated their children privately. Industrialization did not reach many areas until the late 20th century. The planter aristocracy, the elite of antebellum Mississippi, kept the tax structure low for their own benefit, making only private improvements. Before the war the most successful planters, such as Confederate President Jefferson Davis, owned riverside properties along the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers in the Mississippi Delta. Away from the riverfronts, most of the Delta was undeveloped frontier.[ citation needed ]

Blacks cleared land, selling timber and developing bottomland to achieve ownership. In 1900, two-thirds of farm owners in Mississippi were blacks, a major achievement for them and their families. Due to the poor economy, low cotton prices and difficulty of getting credit, many of these farmers could not make it through the extended financial difficulties. Two decades later, the majority of African Americans were sharecroppers. The low prices of cotton into the 1890s meant that more than a generation of African Americans lost the result of their labor when they had to sell their farms to pay off accumulated debts. [4]

Sharecropper's daughter, Lauderdale County, 1935 Daughter of a sharecropper, Lauderdale County, Mississippi, 8a07022.jpg
Sharecropper's daughter, Lauderdale County, 1935

After the Civil War, the state refused for years to build human capital by fully educating all its citizens. In addition, the reliance on agriculture grew increasingly costly as the state suffered loss of cotton crops due to the devastation of the boll weevil in the early 20th century, devastating floods in 1912–1913 and 1927, collapse of cotton prices after 1920, and drought in 1930. [1]

Commercial blueberry cultivation began in 1980. [5]

In the modern era more of an emphasis has been placed on sustainable agriculture. [6]

The negative effects of overdevelopment and climate change on agriculture in California have made large scale commercial farming in the Mississippi Delta more attractive. [7]

Significant products

Blueberries

Many blueberry growers are organized as part of the Miss-Lou Blueberry Growers Cooperative (which also includes growers in Louisiana). 2,100 acres of blueberries were under cultivation in 2014. [5]

The blueberry was made Mississippi's state fruit in 2023. [8]

Wine

This section is an excerpt from Mississippi wine.[ edit ]
Map of USA MS.svg
Mississippi wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The hot and humid climate of Mississippi makes it very difficult to cultivate vitis vinifera or French hybrid grapes. The three commercial wineries in Mississippi focus almost entirely on the Muscadine grape, a variety also used for non-alcoholic grape juices, jams, and jellies. Most of the Mississippi Delta AVA, a designated American Viticultural Area, lies within the state boundaries of Mississippi. [9]

Poultry

Historical poultry production in Mississippi Collection- Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation Collection (16374498450).jpg
Historical poultry production in Mississippi

Poultry makes up the lions share of Mississippi's agricultural production by value at $3.8 billion in 2023. [10]

Soybeans

Soybean production was worth $1.3 billion in 2023. [10]

Education

This section is an excerpt from Mississippi State University.[ edit ]
Mississippi State University logo.svg

Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, [11] [12] commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. [13] [14] It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very High Research Activity" and has a total research and development budget of $239.4 million, the largest in Mississippi. [15]

The university was chartered as Mississippi Agricultural & Mechanical College on February 28, 1878, and admitted its first students in 1880. Organized into 12 colleges and schools, the university offers over 180 baccalaureate, graduate, and professional degree programs, [16] and is home to Mississippi's only accredited programs in architecture and veterinary medicine. Mississippi State participates in the National Sea Grant College Program and National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program. The university's main campus in Starkville is supplemented by auxiliary campuses in Meridian, Gautier, and Biloxi.

Mississippi State's intercollegiate sports teams, the Mississippi State Bulldogs, compete in NCAA Division I athletics as members of the Southeastern Conference's western division. Mississippi State was a founding member of the SEC in 1932. In their more-than 120-year history, the Bulldogs have won 21 individual national championships, [17] 30 regular season conference championships, and 1 national championship title. [18] The school is noted for a pervasive baseball fan culture, [19] with Dudy Noble Field holding 22 of the top 25 all-time NCAA attendance records and the school's Left Field Lounge being described as an epicenter of college baseball. [20]

Events

The Mississippi State Fair is Mississippi's primary agricultural fair. [21]

Museums

The Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum is in Jackson, Mississippi. [22] Mississippi Pickle Fest, a festival dedicated to pickled cucumbers, is held at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum. [23]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 John Otto Solomon,The Final Frontiers, 1880–1930: Settling the Southern Bottomlands. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1999, pp.10–11, 42–43, 50–51, and 70
  2. ↑ Naipaul, V.S. (1990). A Turn in the South. Vintage. p. 216. ISBN   978-0679724889. The people who wrote the constitution wanted the state to remain 'a pastoral state, an agricultural state'. They didn't want big business or the corporations coming in, encouraging 'unfavorable competition for jobs with the agricultural community'.
  3. ↑ "Mississippi Almanac Entry". The New York Times. July 15, 2004. Archived from the original on May 26, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2010., The New York Times Travel Almanac (2004)
  4. ↑
  5. 1 2 Phillips, Glynda (July 2018). "A Mississippi Blueberry Pioneer". msfarmcountry.com. Mississippi Farm Country. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  6. ↑ McArthur, Danny. "These 3 farms are an example of Mississippi's growing network of sustainable agriculture". mpbonline.org. Mississippi Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  7. ↑ STEPHENSON, CASSANDRA; IRELAND, ILLAN; POWELL, PHILLIP (25 August 2024). "As climate threats to agriculture mount, could the Mississippi River delta be the next California?". arkansasadvocate.com. Arkansas Advocate. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  8. ↑ Ulmer, Sarah (14 March 2023). "The Blueberry: Mississippi's new state fruit". magnoliatribune.com. Magnolia Tribune. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  9. ↑
  10. 1 2 Grove, Garret. "Mississippi's agriculture industry worth $9 billion". wjtv.com. WJTV. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  11. ↑ "Mississippi State University Sponsored Programs Administration Web Page". Archived from the original on April 29, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
  12. ↑ "2013 Mississippi Code :: Title 37 - Education :: Chapter 113 - Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science". Justia Law. Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  13. ↑ "City of Starkville Street Map". City of Starkville. Archived from the original on June 27, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Campus Map (Mississippi State University)". November 18, 2006. Archived from the original on November 18, 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  15. ↑ "Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education". February 1, 2016. Archived from the original on March 30, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  16. ↑ Team, ITS Web Development. "Academics". Mississippi State University. Archived from the original on October 16, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Peters Wins NCAA Javelin Championship, Quijera Takes Second - Mississippi State University". Mississippi State University Athletics. June 6, 2018. Archived from the original on July 28, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Jack Leiter strikes out 8 in Vanderbilt's Game 1 CWS finals win | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Archived from the original on January 8, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  19. ↑ "College baseball: 10 must-visit baseball stadiums this season". NCAA.com. April 12, 2018. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  20. ↑ "The John Grisham Room » Mississippi State University Libraries". lib.msstate.edu. Archived from the original on December 31, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  21. ↑ Grove, Garret (5 October 2024). "Lost history of the Mississippi State Fair". wjtv.com. WJTV. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  22. ↑ Ingle, Courtney (12 May 2023). "Mississippi's Ag Museum offers low cost family fun". magnoliatribune.com. Magnolia Tribune. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  23. ↑ Thompson, Kayla. "2024 Mississippi Pickle Fest". wjtv.com. WJTV. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
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