It’s gambling season in Mississippi, the time of year piles of money are buried in the soil, and we wait to see what happens in six months.
April is planting season in our state as farmers play their hunches — what to plant, how much to plant. The knowns are far fewer than the unknowns. Weather and markets can be fickle. It’s a risky business. It’s always been a risky business. It is the nature of the industry. But, talk to a farmer and he’ll tell you he wouldn’t be doing anything else.
Farming has always been Mississippi’s leading industry.
According to the group Farm Families of Mississippi, 26,000 Mississippians — about 17 percent of the state’s workforce — are employed either directly or indirectly in the industry.
While chicken/egg and livestock production account for about half of the state’s agricultural income, row crops such as soybeans, cotton, corn and rice are vital to the state’s economy.
For those row-crop farmers, the time for decision is at hand. Over the next six weeks, the bulk of the state’s row crops will be planted.
Right now, the smart money seems to point to cotton and soybeans, where current prices are promising. Corn prices are off at the moment and it is expected that most Mississippi farmers will reduce their corn acreage.
Of course, it’s more complicated than just looking at market prices. The real question is not so much what the prices are today, but what they’ll be in the fall, when those crops are harvested. It’s almost impossible to predict.
Because agriculture is a global industry, the local farmer is not only impacted by the range of weather situations that can affect his crop, but the same conditions half a world away.
A drought on the other side of the world can mean a scarcity that drives up prices. A bumper crop on the other side of the globe can flood the market with those products, driving prices down.
It’s a gamble every year — a major investment in money, time, worry and work. If everything falls into place, the farmer can expect to make a reasonable profit come fall.
But there’s no guarantee, of course. Most Mississippi farmers are small farmers — the average farm in the state is 264 acres — so these aren’t big corporations with multi-million-dollar assets to hedge against a bad year. The typical Mississippi farmer is risking far more.
So, as the planting season begins, we salute the farmer, whose work is always a precarious enterprise.
Farming requires a lot of sweat and toil and expertise.
It also requires the nerves of a gambler.
In April, the farmers place their bets, then work and wait.
They have our respect, admiration and good wishes.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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