Page2 Greenwood Commonwealth / Sunday, May 20, 2012 FARMING =======================================================================================================================================================================
Page3 Greenwood Commonwealth / Sunday, May 20, 2012 FARMING =======================================================================================================================================================================
STORY AND PHOTO BY RUTH JENSEN
What’s next? Parker Barrett, salesman for Wade Inc. of Greenwood, stands beside a newermodel John Deere tractor. Barrett says GPS guidance technology in equipment makes for higher accuracy and helps prevent driver fatigue.
Technology makes farming easier, more efficient E
quipment that guides itself and puts out fertilizer and seed directed by an on-board computer is just the tip of the iceberg for new developments in farming these days Today’s farmers have access to incredible technology, and there’s much more to come, according to experts. That available technology comes with a price and requires re-training. But the use of these marvels can bring great rewards. From improved seeds to ever bigger and more efficient combines, cotton pickers and tractors, farmers have to decide when expenditures for the latest gadget or piece of equipment — which can reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars — are worth it in increased output and efficiency. “A machine can cover as much territory in the field as 20 did a long time ago,” says Henry McGlawn, service manager at Ayers-Delta Implement Inc., which sales Case equipment. GPS technology is responsible for many improvements in machines. Newer ones come with it, and it can often be installed on older pieces of equipment. “The biggest thing is monitoring and mapping of fields. We have towers that are connected to the computer on-board the machine, and they do a lot of the work,” Danny Guthrie, manager at Ayers-Delta, said. “You can do almost anything with a console that’s right at your fingertips.” Cabs also have surround sound, refrigerators and computers and can become a mobile office in the field if needed. Equipment almost drives itself, with the GPS system keeping it straight. The driver only has to turn it around at the end of a row. “You don’t have as much operator fatigue,” according to Parker Barrett, salesman for Wade Inc., which sells John Deere equipment. “You can actually get more from the harvest by not missing any rows and by going straighter down them.” Companies are even working on equipment that drives itself completely, with no
On the horizon Some future farm technology developments, from the editors of Farm Industry News: Hydrogen fuel: The hydrogen fuel industry is where ethanol was 15 years ago. It can be produced from renewable sources like methane, ethanol, biomass and water. Electric tractors: John Deere has a 7430 E Premium tractor, now sold in Europe only, that generates electricity to run auxiliaries like air need for a driver at all, but they aren’t available yet. Variable rate fertilizer applications also cut down on waste and make for a cleaner environment, Barrett said. After soil samples are taken and analyzed, data is entered into computers which tells equipment how much fertilizer to apply and where it is needed, so there’s a lot less waste. Even in the span of one field, there are differences. This more precise application helps the farmer save money and get better yields, as well as prevent excess chemicals from being used for the sake of a cleaner environment, Barrett said. Even applications from airplanes are now customized, so that more or less chemicals are applied exactly where they are needed, according to Curt Jolly, operations manager for Garry Makamson Farms. That information, too, is tailored by computers tied to GPS signals. Environmental Protection Agency standards have demanded cleaner and more efficient engines, and both Case and John Deere equipment have engines that have better use of diesel. They go longer on a gallon of fuel and put out cleaner exhaust.
conditioning. It will operate implements that are redesigned with electric motors. In a storm, it could plug into a house to be used as a generator. Better seeds: New varieties include drought-tolerant plants. Biomass: Machines to gather crop residue that can be used as fuel. Robots: Machines that will not require a driver. “The exhaust is cleaned on the way out on all tractors over 100 horsepower,” Guthrie said. In cotton pickers, both companies have machines that have greatly increased harvest capacity compared to old basket models that most Deltans remember. “They can pick 80 to 100 acres in a day now, compared to 50 or 60 with the old basket picker,” Barrett said. Combines too have much greater harvest capacity. “You never know when rain will set in, and you need to get the crop out as quickly as possible,” Barrett said. Pickers also put the cotton into a module and wrap it, ready to be put on the side of the field to await being taken to a gin, he said. Even putting out seed is a faster operation, with a central commodity system planter that has a bulk tank feeding all the rows rather than separate tanks for each row that have to be refilled more often. One of the most helpful aspects of technology is not big at all, fitting into a farmer’s hand. The cell phone, iPad and laptop computer provide information such
as wind direction and speed, humidity, temperature and storm rain totals. The electronics can also compile historical data to show how yields were affected by these events. Clint Dunn of Dunn Farms uses his phone and electronic gear for weather applications but also to monitor his irrigation equipment. “We use an Internet-based program to monitor pivots. We can turn them off without going to them, saving a lot of time. If you know you have gotten an inch of rain there, you can adjust. Rain gauges can report where the rain has fallen,” Dunn said. “We mainly use it to see if our pivots are up and running. At a glance you can see if any are stuck and what speed and direction that are running. If you are busy at another location it maximizes your time and efficiency,” he said. “In the field, you can access field maps, get numbers, look at your files from an accessible server.” Jolly said the cellphone and computer also deliver up-to-the-minute market information. Getting the latest thing for farm use is expensive, but these tools are becoming necessary if a farmer is to be successful. “With costs like they are, you want to get more out of everything,” Jolly said. Dunn agrees: “In the end it is worth it.” !
On the cover Danny Guthrie, manager of Ayers-Delta Implement Inc. in Greenwood, shows off one of the newer Case combines, bigger than ever and equipped with all sorts of new technology that makes farming faster and more comfortable. Photo by Ruth Jensen Cover design by Joseph Cotton
Page4 Greenwood Commonwealth / Sunday, May 20, 2012 FARMING =======================================================================================================================================================================
Page5 Greenwood Commonwealth / Sunday, May 20, 2012 FARMING =======================================================================================================================================================================
STORY AND PHOTOS BY BOB DARDEN
Agrowing thirst
Leflore County farmers Richard Brown, left, and Pierce Brown stand in front of an On-Farm Storage Reservoir. The reservoir allows the Browns to use captured rain and field runoff for irrigation throughout the year.
Irrigation draining Leflore, Sunflower aquifer I
ncreased farm irrigation is placing a serious strain on the Mississippi alluvial aquifer and is prompting changes in the way ground water is used and stored. “We’re still headed in the wrong direction. We still have overdrafts,” said Dean Pennington, executive director of the Yazoo Mississippi Delta Joint Water Management District. The precipitous drop in the aquifer in Leflore and Sunflower counties, in particular — where the level has dropped an average of 1 foot per year — is still cause for concern, he said. However, Pennington said, all the news isn’t bad. “We’re optimistic about conservation and new water supplies. ... That we’ll have all the water we need,” he said. While efforts have been centered on reducing water use through conservation measures, such as landforming, the construction of weirs — earthen holding vats — to store captured irrigation water, and tail-water recovery systems, which “backlifts” runoff from ditches and
“We’re still headed in the wrong direction. We still have overdrafts.” Dean Pennington, executive director of Yazoo Mississippi Delta Joint Water Management District streams for reuse, other strategies are also being considered, Pennington said. One such strategy is diverting river water for agricultural use. “We do have the Mississippi River on the West and the Tallahatchie and Yazoo on the East that really do have a lot of unused water. We’re looking at ways to bring that to the Delta,” Pennington said. That surface water — pumped for example from the Tallahatchie River to the Quiver River located in Sunflower County — could be used for irrigation, lessening the need for ground water from the aquifer, he said. Pennington said surface water from rivers could be moved via existing streams in the Delta.
That would also likely improve the water quality — and wildlife habitat — of the streams involved with the project. “We’ve been talking about it for a long time. In the past two years, we’ve launched a feasibility study with the Corps of Engineers to examine that possibility,” Pennington said. Two big considerations for such an ambitious plan will be practicality and cost, he said. Pennington said such a study will likely take six months to a year to complete. Another promising possibility is using surface water of the Mississippi River to replenish the aquifer itself, he said. The placement of several water wells, known as a “well field,” on the protected
side of the Mississippi River, can draw water from the river when it is at high stages, Pennington said. Similar to a drinking straw, the wells “pull” surface water from the river through the existing sand and gravel — filtering it in the process — and helping to replenish the aquifer, he said. Still, that effort is years off. Time is of the essence, Pennington said. The overall health of the aquifer is important, since it provides most of the irrigation water for the Delta, Arkansas, the boot heel of Missouri and Louisiana, he said. Pennington said the Natural Resources Conservation Service is actively working to help farmers and landowners qualify for cost-sharing and technical advice for farmers that are interested. He is also pleased that the state Department of Environmental Quality is also getting more involved with the irrigation issue. One such effort is the YMD’s Phaucet program.
Page6 Greenwood Commonwealth / Sunday, May 20, 2012 FARMING =======================================================================================================================================================================
“It is a simple computer program that calculates the flow rate of the well,” Pennington said. With the program, a farmer can determine how big a hole to punch is a particular piece of poly pipe. “It calculates the size of the hole and how long your furrow is,” he said. By matching flow rate to an individual furrow, water use is maximized while runoff is minimized, Pennington said. “We’ve found this to be extremely popular. We think that has the potential on a million acres of land to reduce water table use by 20 percent,” he said. Another promising development is the development of OnFarm Storage Reservoirs. Described by Pennington as a “catfish pond on steroids,” the reservoirs, which are 8 feet deep, trap and hold rain water and field runoff. The reservoirs can typically meet the irrigation needs on between 200 and 500 acres of farmland. Pennington said 10 to 20 such reservoirs are already operating on farms in the Delta. “The landowners are just beginning to know how to use them,” he said. Pierce Brown’s family farm near Schlater already has two storage reservoirs in operation. “One is 20 acres and one is 10 acres. They’re connected through an underground pipe,” he said. “Every time it rains or we’re irrigating a crop, the runoff goes into a ditch,” where it is pumped to the reservoir, Brown, 34, said. “We’re recycling water over and over again without having to pump an ounce of water out of the ground. We’ve been extremely happy with it,” he said. Brown is the son of Bill Brown. His cousin, Richard Brown, is the son of Craig Brown. Richard Brown, 31, said he was somewhat concerned about the ability of the reservoirs to stay full throughout the long, hot summer. “I was afraid last year that we were going to run out of
Leflore County farmer Richard Brown stands near an intake pipe on the family’s farm near Schlater. Rain water and field runoff are water, but we didn’t,” he said. The Browns are in the process of completing a third 20-acre reservoir nearby. The two connected reservoirs
can presently irrigate 220 acres of farmland. Construction of the reservoirs was comparatively easy in an area with several catfish ponds
picked up by the intake pipe and placed in a On-Farm Storage Reservoir. which are no longer in use. Pierce Brown said the reservoirs are made from three such former catfish ponds, which have been deepened and had
their levees raised. The reservoirs will work out, Pierce Brown said. “We will never pump water out of the ground again.” !
A simple punch, with various diameter fittings, is used to punch holes in poly pipe under the YMD’s Phaucet program. By calculating flow rates and using specific size openings, field runoff can be substantially reduced.
Page7 Greenwood Commonwealth / Sunday, May 20, 2012 FARMING =======================================================================================================================================================================
Page8 Greenwood Commonwealth / Sunday, May 20, 2012 FARMING =======================================================================================================================================================================
Page9 Greenwood Commonwealth / Sunday, May 20, 2012 FARMING =======================================================================================================================================================================
STORY AND PHOTO BY BOB DARDEN
‘It’s a challenge’ Young Farmer deals with age-old problems W
Michael Bussey Jr., who was named Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce Young Farmer of the year, has been in
hile Michael Bussey Jr. may carry the title of GreenwoodLeflore County Chamber of Commerce Young Farmer of the Year for 2012, he’s dealing with the same problems faced by farmers throughout the Delta. “My acres are down considerably. I lost a place over at the airport,” said Bussey, 34, a partner in K&M Farms with his wife, Kristi. The loss reduced the acreage available to Bussey by 1,000 acres, which means that he won’t be employing as many workers as he has in the past. Still, he remains optimistic. “We’ve still got plenty of land. We’ll try to get more of it irrigated,” he said. Bussey’s main landowner in his 2,500acre farming operation is his grandmother, Juanita Bussey. Like most landowners, even his grandmother increased her rent. “She did go up a little bit but not nearly like some of these landowners did. I had some rents that doubled this year. It’s getting real bad,” he said. While commodity prices are high, input costs — such a seed, fuel and fertilizer — have also increased. That means farmers are pocketing less income, Bussey said. If Bussey has a fear, it’s that commodity prices will fall and input costs will take a year or more to drop to manageable levels. “If we have a good year, we have a chance of making some money,” he said. Farming is unpredictable, Bussey said. “No two years are the same. Something you do this year might work extremely well. Next year, it might not do near about what it did,” he said. Still, despite the uncertainties, Bussey is seeing more young people getting involved in farming. He said the lure of working a family farm still has its attractions. When Bussey graduated from CrugerTchula Academy in 1995, he got involved in farming straight off, working for farmer George Saunders of Itta Bena from 1996 to 2001. He then joined his father, Mike Bussey Sr., in his farming operation. Now his father works for him. Bussey still recalls his early days of farming, back when diesel cost less than 90 cents a gallon. Now it’s more than $3.20. A year ago, during the height of irrigation season, it shot up to $4 per gallon. “That’s a huge factor,” he said. Add to that the fact that other input costs, such as fertilizer, have doubled since Bussey started farming. Bussey remains hopeful that his children will follow in his farming footsteps one day. His daughters — Kaitlyn, 15, and Mary Carter, 10 — are old enough to appreciate the lure of the farm. His 2-year-old son, Michael III, hasn’t been able to grasp it just yet. Farming has its appeal. farming for a decade. While farming can be difficult and costly, “I enjoy it. It’s a challenge,” Bussey Bussey, 34, said always knew he wanted to become a farmer. said. !
“No two years (of farming) are the same. Something you do this year might work extremely well. Next year, it might not do near about what it did.” Michael Bussey
Page10 Greenwood Commonwealth / Sunday, May 20, 2012 FARMING =======================================================================================================================================================================
Page11 Greenwood Commonwealth / Sunday, May 20, 2012 FARMING =======================================================================================================================================================================
STORY AND PHOTO BY CHARLIE SMITH
Generation gap
Elizabeth Hey, right, holds her lamb while judge Chad Walker checks it out during the gram is one way to introduce young people to farming — a critical need as the nation’s Leflore County 4-H livestock show in this Jan. 29, 2011, file photo. The livestock pro- farm population ages.
As U.S. farmers age, who will meet growing demand for food?
T
he world’s population continues to boom. It reached 7 billion last year, a figure not really fathomable to the human mind. And the United Nations expects it to continue growing, reaching 10 billion by the year 2100. All those people will need houses for their heads and food for their bellies. That presents a strain on resources, though: There’s less acreage for farming but more food demand. Billy Kingery, a professor in the Plant and Soil Sciences Department at Mississippi State University, studies resource conservation, especially related to the soil. But farmers, he said, are the most important agricultural resource, and they need conserving, too. The average age of a farmer in the United States is 57, according to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, the most recent data available. The average age of U.S. farmers in 2002 was 55. Mississippi was slightly lower than the average in 2007 at 56. As the farming population ages, it’s not being replacing at needed levels, Kingery said
He said he thinks young people today, even in cities, have a natural interest in where their food comes from and many would turn to farming in a heartbeat if given the opportunity. “I think there are kids out there who would fall in love with farming if they had the opportunity, and they’re all over,” Kingery said. One place where children get a chance for hands-on learning about farm life is through 4-H livestock programs. There they learn how to feed, care for and groom market animals. The Leflore County livestock program brings in about 70 children each year from the 7 and under category to 18 years old. Not all of them come from farm families either. Andy Braswell, the director of the Leflore County Extension Service, said he has parents of children in the program who are business owners, salesmen or entomologists. Sometimes parents who have farms allow children who don’t live on farms to use their facilities, he said. “It drives in people who ordinarily wouldn’t get a chance to participate in the livestock show,” Braswell said.
All of his own children participated from ages 8 to 18, and he now has four grandchildren in it. Participants in the 4-H livestock show learn responsibility, how to get along with other children and where their food comes from, he said. Kingery said that final point is an important one. He predicts a big change in that regard during the lifetime of young people today: Educated people in the 21st century will know more about where their food came from than those in the 20th, he said. “I think they’re going to have to wind up closer to it,” Kingery said. Although the world will still rely on large-scale farming for food, Kingery points to a burgeoning student farm movement as one of the many potential ways to develop more farmers. Mississippi State University is beginning a student farm to develop basic farming and life skills, he said. That helps because it’s so difficult to get into a conventional farm due to the high costs. Agriculture is not a degree that you can get and expect to land a job as a farmer like an accountant or journalist could, Kingery said.
“I think there are kids out there who would fall in love with farming if they had the opportunity, and they’re all over.” Billy Kingery, Mississippi State University professor
In Greece, where the economy is collapsing, young people are going back to the farms to work on a large scale because they lack job opportunities elsewhere, Kingery said. To a lesser degree, it’s happening closer to home as well. Kingery said Dustin Pinion, an Indianola native and Mississippi State graduate, did something similar at his family’s farm in Indianola. He grows a mix of vegetables, pastured poultry and eggs. In Greenwood, De’Vante Wiley, a graduating senior at Greenwood High School, started a community garden in Baptist Town. Churches and other organizations have begun community gardens as well. They’re all a way for people to get started with the basics of farming. Eventually, that can lead to new farmers. Another element is agricultural education. Liberty Hyde Bailey, an influential U.S. horticulturalist who lived from 1858 to 1954, argued that a farmer’s education is so essential to a nation that it should be free, Kingery said. While he doesn’t necessarily completely agree with that statement, he said it shows the importance of farm education. !
Page12 Greenwood Commonwealth / Sunday, May 20, 2012 FARMING =======================================================================================================================================================================
Page13 Greenwood Commonwealth / Sunday, May 20, 2012 FARMING =======================================================================================================================================================================
STORY AND PHOTOS BY DAVID MONROE
Planning for peanuts First-time planters seek experts’ advice F
armers growing peanuts for the first time are getting all the advice they can as they get through the growing season. High prices now make the peanut a good crop to rotate with cotton, said Jim Thomas of Egypt Plantation, whose farming operation is devoting about 5 percent of its acreage to peanuts. “When cotton prices are low, maybe peanut prices will be high, and we can have a little diversification and maybe be able to improve our profitability,” said Thomas, who also grows corn and soybeans. So, in planning for this year’s crop, Thomas and his management team spent plenty of time doing research and talking to other farmers. They looked at other farmers’ planters as they prepared to set up their own. They also are relying on the expertise of Alan Blaine of Southern Ag Consulting, who first suggested to Thomas and others the idea of planting peanuts. Blaine now visits Egypt Plantation once a week — one of his many regular stops. New questions come up periodically, Thomas said. For example, they applied herbicide after planting in order to keep grass out of the fields, but they couldn’t apply it in one field because of the rain. So what do they do next? “We’ve got to go to Plan B,” Thomas said. “And Alan Blaine’s going to tell us what Plan B is.” Blaine also pays two visits a week to Ricky Belk of Glendora, whose 300 acres Jim Thomas of Egypt Plantation has devoted about 5 percent of his land to growing peanuts. He said growof peanuts make ing peanuts is “going to be a big learning curve for me.” up between 2 and 3 percent of his total acreage. Belk said planting peanuts requires a lot of Belk patience. It’s a much slower process than planting soybeans or corn, and he and his employees had to get used to planting fewer acres in a day. Also, for his other crops, seed can be loaded mechanically by one person, but peanuts must be loaded by hand — a job that requires three or four people. For that reason, some people who normally work there part-time in the fall are working already. Belk said he had been thinking about planting peanuts for a while before getting into it this year. Seeing the investment that companies are now willing to make in infrastructure for the crop convinced him that they didn’t see it as just a short-term option. Still, he said, “it’s going to be a big learning curve for me” — and he’s glad to have Blaine’s help. The peanuts being pushed for growth in the Delta now are Runner peanuts, which are smaller than Virginia peanuts and larger than Spanish ones. Blaine and others have said that the Delta is a good place to grow peanuts because of the soil.
The key, Thomas said, is the sand. Peanuts have to be dug out, flipped over and allowed to dry before a combine is run through them. It’s easier to dig peanuts out of sand, and it’s also easier to clean the shells because the sand doesn’t stick as much, Thomas said. “All these creeks have that sandy land around them that’s conducive for peanuts,” he said, citing Egypt Plantation’s land around Abiaca Creek, where its peanuts are planted. Peanuts and cotton are planted about the same time — late April and early May — and both also are harvested in late September or early October. Thomas said cool nights had slowed the peanuts’ germination process, but the plants are starting to come up. The exact timing of the harvest will depend on how dry it is and how much heat the plants get, Thomas said. However, he said, they’ve already gotten a sense of what the worst-case scenario would be —something like the fall of 2009. The 13 inches of rain that September and 12 inches in October did heavy damage to cotton and soybeans, but it hit peanut growers hard, too, he said. “They had a difficult time, horrible time,” he said. “Because, first of all, they were trying to dig the peanuts, and the soil was so wet it wouldn’t dig right. And then they had to find days the soil was dry enough to dig — and then you dig them and let them sit out there for a few days to let them dry out. Well, it kept raining on them, so it molded them. So the crops were terrible that year.” Belk and Thomas both will sell peanuts to Birdsong Peanuts, which has a buying point in Aberdeen and has its closest shelling plants in Texas and Georgia. In Aberdeen, the peanuts will be dried and stored in a warehouse until they are ready to be shipped to a shelling plant. They will be used mainly for peanut butter. Thomas said he also is working with Mississippi Peanut Co., a separate company near Aberdeen that sold him a combine and also has helped with equipment setup. Another peanut processor, the Clint Williams Co. of Madill, Okla., is building two peanut buying points in the Delta — one in Greenwood and another in Clarksdale — that are scheduled to open by the end of this summer. In deciding whether they might plant more peanuts in coming years, equipment will be a consideration. Thomas said he’s been told that he would need another combine if he decided to plant significantly more than 300 acres. “I don’t imagine that we would plant more than probably 350 acres because we just have one combine,” he said. “I guess at some point in the future, if the prices stay good or get higher, we might plant more.” !
Page14 Greenwood Commonwealth / Sunday, May 20, 2012 FARMING =======================================================================================================================================================================
Page15 Greenwood Commonwealth / Sunday, May 20, 2012 FARMING =======================================================================================================================================================================
STORY AND PHOTOS BY RUTH JENSEN
King no more The same fertile soil and abundant water that made the Mississippi Delta a great place to grow cotton gives farmers options when it comes to choosing which crops to plant. And many Delta farmers are opting to grow grain.
As food prices go up, Delta cotton acreage falls T
here are some icons that are stuck in the minds of people who grew up in and around the Mississippi Delta. When you hear the word “king,” you usually think of B.B., Elvis, and, of course, cotton. For many years, cotton was the crop of choice. Whether conditions will ever make that possible again, no one knows for sure. Spann Robertson is one who has both grown and marketed cotton, and he bemoans the loss of cotton’s place in the Delta. “I’m one who could walk around a cotton plant 18 times a day and think it’s beautiful,” he said. “When we dedicated Cotton Row and had the first CROP Day, they had a flower box, and I planted a cotton plant, watered and fertilized it. It
was beautiful.” Robertson has been involved with cotton as a boy growing up on a small farm, then as a farmer and later a cotton factor. “Thirty years ago there must have been 20 cotton gins in Leflore County. Now there are four. The gins, compresses, and oil mills are gone across the Delta. That means a loss of jobs,” he said. “There used to be gins at Sunflower, Blaine, Ruleville, Drew. I remember when there were 25 gins in Sunflower County. Now there are none in north Sunflower County.” Reasons for cotton’s strength included the Delta’s outstanding soil and alluvial aquifer. Now those same factors make it
a key provider of food to the world. “The area with the most productive land and availability of water is the Mississippi Delta,” said Meredith Allen, president and CEO of Staplcotn. “Not every part of the U.S. can grow grain. Parts of the Southwest don’t have nearly the water we do. It gives our producers options. “With a booming world population, the need for food has increased, and that has driven up the price of food crops — rice, corn and soybeans,” he said. “As incomes rise, especially in India and China, there’s an increase in the middle class. People improve their diet by adding more meat. It takes a lot more grain to convert to meat. This demand for grains increased the price, and made it increasingly attractive to farmers.”
“The farmer chooses what he can make money on,” Robertson said. “Cotton is much more labor intensive, and also inputs more fertilizer, machinery and fuel. You can use a combine with minor adjustments for a number of crops, but you can’t do anything with a cotton picker but pick cotton,” he said. Allen said the planting of corn as a rotation crop for cotton has been good, as corn improves the fertility of the soil. “The chemicals sprayed also work to advantage for cotton. Crop rotation has made the Delta farmer very versatile and flexible. It’s good for the individual producer, but not for cotton,” he said. Another factor in the decrease of cotton production in the U.S. is the decline in the amount of clothing made with cotton.
Cotton in Mississippi Cotton is a major crop in Mississippi. It ranks third behind poultry and forestry in state commodities with $598 million dollars of revenue produced each year. Mississippi producers plant approximately 1.1 million acres of cotton annually. This number seems to fluctuates depending on weather, price of production and current commodity markets. The highest acreage recorded in Mississippi was in 1930 when 4.163 million acres were
planted to cotton. The highest production year was 1937 when 2.692 million bales were produced over 3.421 million acres. The highest cotton yields were received in 2004 with 1,034 pounds of lint produced per acre. This same year there were 2.346 million bales produced almost as much as in 1937 with one third of the acreage. This yield beat the previous yield of 934 pounds in 2003. Many changes have occurred over the last few years in cot-
ton production: ! Boll weevil eradication efforts have been successful and the boll weevil is no longer a problem pest in Mississippi. ! Transgenic cotton varieties containing the following Genes: Roundup Ready, BollGard I & II, WideStrike and Liberty Link have become very popular and the majority of the cotton acres in Mississippi are planted in some type of transgenic variety. ! Growers are realizing the benefits of reduced tillage programs to increase yields and
profit margins. The major insect pests in cotton have also shifted. The boll weevil used to be the main pest, followed by tobacco budworms and cotton bollworms. However, with the introduction of the new technologies and success of the boll weevil eradication program, the tarnished plant bug has now become the No. 1 pest in Mississippi cotton production. Cotton is and will continue to be a major crop in the state of Mississippi. With the cur-
rent varieties and technology available average cotton yields in Mississippi may have risen to a higher plateau than in years past. Technological advances in transgenic cotton varieties have allowed cotton to be managed and produced easier than ever before and these advances continue to be major reasons that yields have continued to increase over the past few years. — Mississippi State University Extension Service
Page16 Greenwood Commonwealth / Sunday, May 20, 2012 FARMING =======================================================================================================================================================================
“With a booming world population, the need for food has increased, and that has driven up the price of food crops — rice, corn and soybeans.” Meredith Allen, president and CEO of StaplCotn “People have to have food, clothing and shelter, but they don’t have to have clothes made of cotton,” Allen said. “There is an unlimited supply of man-made fibers. Apparel manufacturers switched to polyester and other man-made fabrics.” Many U.S. textile mills closed or went overseas, and with it, the cotton needed to supply it. Both Allen and Robertson stress that the United States is part of a global market. The No. 1 customer of Staplcotn is still the U.S. textile industry, Allen said. “The second is China. They also export cotton to Turkey, India, Bangladesh, Mexico, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Pakistan, as well as other places. “We have good customers everywhere,” he said. “The textile industry in the U.S. is about a third what it was 15 years ago, but still our largest buyer,” Allen said. However, the U.S. consumes about 2 ½ percent of the world’s cotton, while China uses 40 percent. China is also the
largest grower of cotton, he said. “Local people ask, ‘With farmers’ growing less cotton, what will happen to Staplcotn?’” Allen said. He tells them Staplcotn is just fine, thanks to its expansion into states throughout the Southeast. “Mississippi continues to be one of the largest contributors to Staplcotn’s business. But because of the changes in agriculture here, Staplcotn has extended its marketing arm to the entire Southeast. We are marketing cotton in 13 states,” he said. “Our volume is very stable despite losses in our immediate area because of the growth in the Southeast. They are staying with cotton because they don’t have nearly as much water,” Allen said. “Cotton won’t go away, but it will not be where it used to be,” he said. So the answer to the question from Staplcotn’s chief executive of whether cotton will ever be king in the Delta again is: “Unfortunately, probably not.” !
Count Spann Robertson, who has grown and marketed cotton, among those who bemoan the crop’s decline in the Delta. “I’m one who could walk around a cotton plant 18 times a day and think it’s beautiful,” he says.
Page17 Greenwood Commonwealth / Sunday, May 20, 2012 FARMING =======================================================================================================================================================================
Pre-Fabricated Metal Buildings of All Sizes (60’ x 100’ x 16’) Implement Shed
$38,595.00 *Limited Time For This Pricing*
Includes: Concrete Piers, Screw Down Roof & Colored Eave Trim
662-453-8161 Visit us on-line at: www.mikerozierconstruction.com
Page18 Greenwood Commonwealth / Sunday, May 20, 2012 FARMING =======================================================================================================================================================================
STORY AND PHOTOS BY BETH THOMAS
Farm fashion Modern work clothes combine comfort, functionality B
ack in the day, farmers tilled fields with mules and iron plows. Now they ride in pick-up trucks and have traded their john mules for John Deeres. Farming attire has seen similar change. While farm clothing has always been more functional than fashionable, it has evolved significantly from the days when men wore widebrimmed soft, felt hats, overalls and button-down shirts and sack coats. As the textile industry evolved, so has clothing and the use of cotton in fabric. Cotton holds a significant amount of moisture, so many people who work outdoors, especially in the summertime heat, are opting for clothing made out of materials that keep them cool as well as protect them from the sun. “There are so many new products out there designed to keep people cool and dry,” said Howard Smith of Smith and Co. in Greenwood, as he picked up a lightweight nylon orange shirt with mesh panels by Columbia. “These shirts ventilate and keep moisture away from the skin. They’ve really increased in popularity over the years.We sell a lot of shirts made out of quick-dry material to farmers.” The mesh panels on the shirt allow heat to easily escape and keep the wearer cool. The lightweight material dries quickly and is easy to clean. The shirt also features a cape in the back that enhances airflow onto the skin. Many shirts of this type also feature long sleeves that can easily be rolled up or down. “The interesting thing about this fabric is that its made to keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter,” Smith said. “Farmers also appreciate big pockets on their shirts,” he said. The pockets allow them to keep necessities — like keys and, in modern days, a cell phone — close at hand. “With farming attire, it’s all about what’s comfortable and convenient,” Smith said. Wide-brimmed hats are still seen out in the fields, but most farmers don’t wear them made out of straw anymore. Nowadays, the hats are a cotton blend that dries quickly and keeps the sun out of the wearer’s face. “As people are becoming more health conscious, they realize the importance of keeping their skin protected from the sun,” Smith said. “People were finding skin cancer on their ears, so now more farmers are wearing
wide-brimmed hats to protect their face and ears than the baseball caps people used to wear all the time in the fields.” “Protection from the sun is a big thing, and people are taking that into consideration when selecting clothing to wear outdoors,” Smith said. Even the material used to make a lot of quick-dry shirts contains a sum protectant called Omni-Shade, which has a UPF of 30. Adequate footwear is still needed when working in the fields. “Most farmers wear boots because they’re easy to step into and are easy to clean when they get dirty,” Smith said. “And rubber boots are popular among rice farmers who need the protection out in the rice fields.” While lace-up boots are worn by some farmers. Smith said the majority of them opt for shoes without laces. “When you’re working with equipment, it’s safer to forego the shoe laces and
wear shoes without laces or any attachments. You don’t want to risk tripping and falling or getting laces caught up in machines,” he said. Farmers are paying attention to their socks, too. Since cotton socks tend to hold more moisture, Smith said a lot of farmers are wearing cotton-blend socks that are made to wick away moisture from the skin. This prevents blisters and other foot problems. Some farmers are also putting a sock liner around their feet before slipping on a pair of socks for extra moisture protection. Wool is also a popular choice in the winter for farmers because it holds less moisture than cotton. You probably won’t see too many farmers wearing suspenders to keep their pants up nowadays. Most farmers opt for a leatherstrap belt instead. Another change in farm clothing is the pants. “A lot of farmers still wear work khakis, but more of the younger farm-
Light-weight, water-repellent materials like these shirts are the latest fashions in farm wear. As farmers become more conscious of the sun and its negative effects, they look for another amenity in their clothing: Onmi-Shade, which has a UPF of 30. ers are wearing denim jeans,” Smith said. “The work pants stores are carrying now have a double hem around the edges, and this keeps the pants from fray-
ing when you step on the edges.” As for the evolution of farm clothing, the future looks bright: Darker colors do not work well in the
fields as they tend to absorb more heat. Light, airy garments in bright colors are leading the way in today’s farm fashion choices. !
Page19 Greenwood Commonwealth / Sunday, May 20, 2012 FARMING =======================================================================================================================================================================
Page20 Greenwood Commonwealth / Sunday, May 20, 2012 FARMING =======================================================================================================================================================================