Agricultural Economics
Mississippi’s producers know it takes more than growing a crop through to harvest to have a successful business. They must calculate risk, understand state and federal regulations, manage resources wisely, and be able to analyze growing amounts of data. Agricultural economists with the MSU Extension Service provide free tools farmers can use to determine break-even costs. They also keep Extension clients informed about commodity price fluctuations and offer insight into navigating the complexities of the Farm Bill.
Annual Planning Budgets
Enterprise budgets are essential tools for farm planning. MSU Extension develops annual Planning Budgets for Mississippi which are available on the MSU Department of Agricultural Economics website. You will find enterprise budgets for corn, cotton, soybeans, rice, grain sorghum, wheat, and forages in both pdf format and spreadsheets.
Budgets are included for irrigated and non-irrigated systems, Delta and non-Delta regions, with several different production systems for each crop. The pdf versions include tables with details of resource and input use, monthly cash flow projections, and breakeven analysis. The spreadsheet versions allow the user to make adjustments to the budget to adapt to different prices, input use, and production practices.
Publications
News
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Forest landowners in Mississippi can now join the state’s farm owners who suffered production loss due to last year’s drought in applying for federal emergency loans.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Producers should anticipate tighter profit margins in 2024 as agricultural commodity prices decrease and financing costs climb. However, experts expect the industry to be buoyed by its economic strength, which has grown 6% since 2021.
Mississippi’s poultry took an estimated 23% loss in value in 2023; though production was strong, a failure to meet the previous year’s record high prices was responsible for the hit. Poultry generated an estimated $3.1 billion to Mississippi agriculture in 2023, down from the $3.9 billion generated in 2022.
Success Stories
In late February, Mississippi State University hosted the 2024 National Floriculture Forum, an annual conference held at different locations around the country.
A Smithsonian Institution exhibit about rural communities continues its journey in public libraries across Mississippi.
Former U.S. senators, award-winning authors, and influential musicians have called Carrollton home, so it makes sense that town leaders lean on those credentials to lure visitors to the town to generate revenue.
