Crops From Louisiana And Mississippi

Agriculture formed the foundation for civilization.  When people began cultivating the land and growing their own food, cities and towns started to grow and the local cuisine evolved and changed. We may not realize how important a region's agriculture still is in creating and sustaining a way of life.  

Farmers in Louisiana and Mississippi know they need to remain focused on improving their local crops to sustain life for their region.  Although there may be some similarities, the true cash crops will vary from region to region.  What crops are most important in Louisiana and Mississippi?   Let's take a look.

The Climate Makes the Crop   

Farmers need to study climate to ensure they can harvest crops during the best time of year for that specific region.  There are many factors that go into whether a crop succeeds or fails from year to year.  Of course,  it's not all about number of sunny days versus number of rainy days.  The possibility of hurricanes is always in the back of the farmer's mind.  The farmer really plans for five planting seasons; spring, summer, fall, winter, and hurricane.

Louisiana receives quite a bit of rainfall along with hot, humid temperatures that vary from the northern to the southern regions.   You might not think so, but the temperatures vary enough that the growing season in the northern part of the state is considerably shorter than in the southern part.  Planting seasons vary widely in this big state.  Irrigation doesn't seem to be such a big concern simply because the rivers and waterways that span the state provide plenty of water to maintain crops. 

Mississippi has hot, humid summers and short winters creating the perfect scenario for certain crops to flourish, providing there is enough rainfall during the year.  However, Mississippi is a big state, so the crops in one region may not flourish in another region.  With a lot of rainfall, the land in the Northeast has fertile, rich soil containing silt from the Mississippi River floodwaters.  The Delta region will have a different soil than in areas further away from the waterways, requiring different crops and care.

The Cash Crops

Louisiana produces a large amount of grain, rice, soybeans, cotton, greens, okra, and corn with sugar cane being one of the top crops within the region.   Since the Gulf of Mexico runs along the Louisiana coast, their production of seafood such as crawfish, oysters, and shrimp put them in the number one ranked spot in the nation.  Since many fish and seafoods are now farm-raised, we now consider these 'crops.'  All of these crops have greatly helped the economy in Louisiana. 

Mississippi acreage use to grow mostly soybeans until the production of cotton took over.  Mississippi is ranked second in the nation for their cotton production, after Texas.  Other crops of importance are corn, sugar cane, rice, pecans, greens, and sweet potatoes.  Mississippi also produces the most farm-raised catfish in the world.  About half of the state is still occupied with farms that preserve this way of life, and will for years to come.

Agriculture has an important role in the success of the economy.  It not only ensures that we will have enough food to live on, but provides jobs and creates ongoing revenue for the state. Technological advances will continue to have a positive impact on the production and harvesting of these crops for many years to come.