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The Cotton King has lost his crown - why Mississippi Delta farmers are planting corn and beans instead of the iconic staple

Danny Hargett planted corn and, for the first time, no cotton on his land in Mississippi.
Photo credit: James Patterson for The New York Times

A version of this article appeared in print on May 6, 2009, on page B1 of the New York edition.

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS
Published: May 5, 2009

GREENWOOD, Miss. — Cotton is no longer king of the Mississippi Delta.

Farmers working land that has bloomed a dazzling snowy white every September since before the Civil War are switching to corn and soybeans. As gleaming silver corn silos go up on farm after farm, cotton gins are laying off workers or shutting down.

“We’re closer than we’ve ever been to looking like Iowa,” said Danny Hargett, a veteran farmer who has decided for the first time not to grow any cotton this year on his 3,000 acres of fertile, well-irrigated land. “It was extremely hard for me to make this decision, but the economics have made it almost impossible to make cotton a profitable crop.”

The most immediate cause of King Cotton’s decline is that people around the world are buying less clothing and home furnishings. Global cotton production and consumption are dropping, and the Agriculture Department expects the nation’s exports to fall by $1.2 billion this year.

Cotton growers have seen hard times before, of course. As with other commodities, prices and acreage have gone up and down on economic cycles. But cotton farmers and farm economists say they have never seen a downturn quite like this, one that started during the global boom and has quickened in the recession.

The Agriculture Department estimates that 8.8 million acres of cotton will be planted in the United States this year, down 7 percent from 2008 and 42 percent from 2006.
It will be the lowest cotton acreage since 1983, an anomalous year when farmers cut acreage after a string of bountiful harvests that created a surplus.

Nowhere has the slump been greater than in Mississippi, where farmers decreased their cotton planting to 365,000 acres in 2008, from 1.2 million acres in 2006. A survey suggested that could fall to 268,000 acres this year.

Meanwhile, the number of gins in the state has dropped to 71, from 89 in 2006, said Darrin Dodds, an extension service agronomist at Mississippi State University, who predicts this year, “we may lose a few more.”

Cotton acreage has been declining in Mississippi for decades, but it remained the crop of choice for many farmers in the Delta, the fertile region in the northwestern part of the state, where the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers share a flood plain.

Not everyone is likely to feel nostalgia for a crop long associated with abject work conditions and low wages. Though a source of wealth, cotton was also a source of back-breaking work for slaves and sharecroppers, and later for poor farm laborers.
Early in the 20th century, the travail of picking cotton in the blazing Delta sun was a touchstone theme for the blues musicians of the region. Later, mechanization in the cotton fields contributed to several waves of black migration from the South to industrial cities of the North, and to high rates of unemployment for those left behind. These days, cotton is rarely picked by hand — machines do the work.

Cotton’s cultural roots are still on display around Greenwood, where visitors are welcomed by a sign proclaiming it “Cotton capital of the world.” Some people plead with farmers to keep planting cotton beside the roads, considering it prettier than other crops, and fearing that corn stalks will obstruct drivers’ vision on curved roads.
“It’s a funny sense, a different sense, not seeing the cotton crop,” said Mike Sturdivant Jr., a farmer who has cut his cotton crop to 2,400 acres this year, from 4,900 in 2007. “I don’t like it.”

The rapid slump of cotton in the United States has been influenced by numerous factors, including weather and the plummeting fortunes of the American textile industry. But lately, the most important factor has been the declining profitability of cotton farming, in contrast to the rising profitability of corn and soybean farming.
Poor canola harvests in Europe and dietary changes in several countries produced a world shortage of vegetable oil, pushing up the price of soybeans, which are crushed for their oil. Meanwhile, as middle classes grew in China, India and other developing countries, demand for feed grains grew, and world corn prices rose.

“Globalization has dethroned King Cotton without question, not only in Mississippi, but throughout the South and the United States,” said O. A. Cleveland, professor emeritus of agricultural economics at Mississippi State.

Expanding federal mandates for ethanol prompted farmers to plant more corn to keep up with its growing role as an energy feedstock. Also, new corn strains have made the crop more practical in Mississippi’s hot climate.

Since 2003, cotton prices have declined nearly 23 percent, while prices for soybeans are up more than 38 percent and corn nearly 65 percent. Cotton surpluses have been stacking up around the globe in part because of rising yields from genetically modified cotton seeds and other technological improvements.

Those trends are leaving farmers and cotton gin owners feeling pessimistic.
With the textile mills that make clothes “leaving the country to where the labor is cheaper, it’s not very smart to think we can grow the commodity here so they can make a shirt in China,” said Walter Reese Pillow IV. He followed in the footsteps of his father, grandfather and great-grandfather in growing cotton — until 2006, when he and his family converted their cotton fields to corn and soybeans.

“The prospects for cotton coming back here are about as good as the mills coming back to South Carolina,” Mr. Pillow said.

Jason Colquett, owner of the Crossroads Gin, said his plant ginned 33,000 bales of cotton in 2006, 24,000 in 2007 and 15,000 in 2008. He does not expect to reach 10,000 this year. That has meant a loss of jobs, as it has at other gins across the state. Mr. Colquett’s repair crew has dropped to four full-time workers, from nine, and his ginning season has been reduced to 30 days, from 90.

“I can imagine Mississippi without cotton gins,” Mr. Colquett said. “It’s not a pretty picture.”

Let's Go Walkin, Oxford!

University of Mississippi students and Oxford residents were encouraged to celebrate May by taking a morning walk with Chancellor Robert Khayat beginning at 8 a.m. Monday (May 4) on the front steps of the Lyceum. I wasn't able to participate in this event, and I wonder how it turned out, considering we have been having SO MUCH RAIN!!!

The School of Applied Sciences and HealthWorks sponsored "Walk with the Chancellor" to raise awareness of National Physical Fitness and Sports Month. May was proclaimed for this emphasis by President Ronald Reagan in 1983 to encourage physical activity.

Kathleen Smith, senior exercise science major and HealthWorks intern, hopes individuals recognize the important health benefits of exercise."We want people to realize that just 30 minutes of walking can make a huge impact on physical health." Smith said. "Small steps in exercise fitness can increase cardiovascular health and decrease diseases associated with physical inactivity and obesity."

Despite what folks around the nation might think, Mississippi is very aware of the problems with obesity in our state. I'm so glad that the University of Mississippi is making an effort to promote cardiovascular health, considering that it is cardiovascular disease that is the No. 1 killer in America. Not smoking in restaurants, not texting while driving - heart disease. And so much of our media does not address the issues of heart disease.

And here's the scary part:

Population based studies in youth show that the precursors of heart disease start in adolescence. The process of atherosclerosis evolves over decades, and begins as early as childhood. The Pathobiological Determinants of Atherosclerosis in Youth Study demonstrated that intimal lesions appear in all the aortas and more than half of the right coronary arteries of youths aged 7-9 years. However, most adolescents are more concerned about other risks such as HIV, accidents, and cancer than cardiovascular disease. This is extremely important considering that 1 in 3 people will die from complications attributable to atherosclerosis. In order to stem the tide of cardiovascular disease, primary prevention is needed. Primary prevention starts with education and awareness that cardiovascular disease poses the greatest threat and measures to prevent or reverse this disease must be taken.

Most countries face high and increasing rates of cardiovascular disease. Each year, heart disease kills more Americans than cancer.[2].
It is the number one cause of death and disability in the United States and most European countries (data available through 2005). A large histological study (PDAY) showed vascular injury accumulates from adolescence, making primary prevention efforts necessary from childhood.[3][4]
By the time that heart problems are detected, the underlying cause (atherosclerosis) is usually quite advanced, having progressed for decades. There is therefore increased emphasis on preventing atherosclerosis by modifying risk factors, such as healthy eating, exercise and avoidance of smoking.

(Italicized portions of this piece from the University of Mississippi News and Wikipedia.com)
Check out Let's Go Walkin' Mississippi to find great places to walk in your county, and to see what local schools are up to: http://www.letsgowalkinmississippi.com/

Double Decker Arts Festival 2009 in Oxford, Mississippi features Earth-friendly vendor: Art By The Case

The Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Mississippi is first and foremost a street party. No doubt, over 100 vendors were involved, selling everything from wall art to cupcakes, from cheese serving pieces to neon glowy necklaces, from kudzu baskets to fried pickles.

The amount of garbage strewn in the streets after this festival is horrendous. By evening, the square resembles a Mardis Gras side street, in much need of a hose-off. The city of Oxford, however, does an incredible job of cleaning up after this festival. It is quite amazing, to leave the festival late at night, cups and napkins blowing around like tumbleweeds in the streets, and then to drive through a completely clean Oxford square the next day. My applause goes to the city of Oxford on this - it is SO important to get all of that trash properly disposed of, before it winds up in our ravines and little waste water streams in the hilly terrain of our town.


The festival also offers rides on the authentic double decker buses of Oxford, for which the festival was named.The highlight of this year's festival, for me, was Art By The Case.

There were certainly other vendors selling recycled or repurposed items, but this booth immediately drew me in, and I bought a piece.

To get your Art By The Case, contact:

Alisha Case

2674 Streetman Circle

Birmingham, Alabama 35235

205.999.4423

Email: alisha@artbythecase.com

www.artbythecase.com

Busy times in little Oxfordtown - a special thanks to all who made Green Week possible

Green Week 2009 in Oxford, Mississippi provided an incredible lineup of programs and events for everyone, most taking place on the campus of Ole Miss. I so wish that I could have attended every single event!

Earth Day was celebrated as World Fest on campus in front of the Student Union and with bands playing in the grove. The morning and afternoon events were more of a Kidfest than a Worldfest, but a blast was had by all! Check out this play area with dozens of Earth-inspired balls!

It was also a Momfest, with a mass exodus from Avent Park, nearly all the moms in Oxford brought their kids to the grove for some carnival style fun. Many folks brought their pets!

The students and vendors had multiple stations set up in front of the Union. Trashcans for recycling were obvious and plentiful. There was even this little one specifically for plastic bags.

It was the first truly hot day of Spring. I think the temperature nearly reached 90 degrees that afternoon. It was a good thing that the University provided transportation from the Ford Center parking lot up to the Union.

All kinds of vendors were on campus pushing their wares. I loved these little, "Anamalz" they were cute, and they've got a great website!

Lots of handouts and candy to fill your goody bag.

This was by far the best installation. These large feet represent, of course, an example of each country's carbon footprint. I believe that the "t pp" means tons per person.

Roots and Shoots is one of my favorite organizations. This young student was on hand to tell us about her trip to Africa with the Roots and Shoots group at Ole Miss.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the huge effort on campus and beyond that was Green Week 2009! The week was a huge success, I've heard nothing but great things from everyone who participated.

So much! First things first - Liberty Recycling

I had the incredible experience to visit Liberty Recycling a month ago. Here are a few photos from my adventure.

Every little kid's dream: Operating a huge claw machine.
No, but seriously, this is a very careful job, and according to my tour guide, the guy driving this machine is the best. He can very carefully lift scraps out of the back of a truck without damaging the truck. This takes years of practice, with little or no margin of error.

At the weigh station, you pick up a hardhat if you intend to get out of your car.

Liberty employees.

Pile o' metal. (Before the U.S.A. economy hit bottom, this pile was 5 to 10 times as big.)

Metal stuck inside concrete is torched out.

This trailer is completely full of crushed aluminum cans.

Pricing for metals to be recycled. (PS: Recyling pennies is illegal! So don't go bring Liberty your piggy bank!)

It was absolutely amazing to tour the Liberty Recycling Center. Liberty is a family owned, family run business. It is so important to support businesses like Liberty, and to recycle your scrap! If you have scrap metal things of any kind, take it to Tuscaloosa and see how much you can get for it!

Liberty Recycling

2664 24th Street
Tuscaloosa, AL 35401
(205)345-0094
(205)345-0095 (fax)

http://libertyrecyclingcenter.com/