Mississippi's agricultural commodities reached $7.3
billion in total estimated value in 2012, with poultry and eggs the top
commodity at $2.53 billion, according to Mississippi State University agricultural economists.
The $7.3 billion represents a 9.4-percent increase over 2011
numbers. Soybeans, with an estimated record value of $1.16 billion, moved past
forestry to claim the number two spot in the state’s rankings for the first
time. Number three forestry saw a 7.7-percent increase and estimated value of
$1.03 billion. “The fact that soybeans surpassed forestry is indicative of the
year that we had,” said John Michael Riley, agricultural economist with the
university's extension service. “The jump has everything to do with production
and prices for soybeans, and the general economy as it relates to housing starts
and the use of forest products. We saw a small growth in forestry value, but it
wasn’t enough to overcome the huge gain in soybeans.”
Mississippi's 2012 corn crop came in at number four
with an estimated production value of $891 million, the highest on record. As of
mid-December, corn had the highest-ever yield per acre at 156 bushels. The
number of bushels harvested — 1.22 million — is the highest since 2007, and the
second highest in Mississippi’s
history, according to economists.
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