Worst drought conditions since 2016 take toll on Mississippi farm harvests

by

Lacey Alexander

• Published on October 18, 2023 • Comments

Kim Dillon, manager at Ben & Ben Becnel, Inc. shows damage from the recent drought and heatwave in one of their groves in Plaquemines Parish, La., Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023.
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

The U.S. drought monitor says Mississippi is experiencing some of the driest conditions since 2016. Farmers in the state say they're already seeing the effects on their crops and farmland.

Lacey Alexander

Worst drought conditions since 2016 take toll on Mississippi farm harvests

Over 98% of Mississippi is currently under some kind of drought warning as dry conditions have carried over from the summer months. Farmers now harvesting fall crops say that they've suffered losses or a drop in quality because of the lack of rain.

Don Mitchell owns Mitchell Family Farms in Collins, where he grows several crops like pumpkins, peanuts and soybeans. He says the land with reliable irrigation systems produced crops normally, but some of the lots that rely only on rainwater were a "complete loss."

“When July hit, the crops that depended high on water… they suffered tremendously where they were not watered.” he said. “Some of my friends had a lot of crops that were totally dependent on rainfall in July and September. And they're taking it worse than me personally.”

Filer image — The U.S. Drought Monitor depicts the location and intensity of drought across the country. The map uses 5 classifications: Abnormally Dry (D0), showing areas that may be going into or are coming out of drought, and four levels of drought (D1–D4).This map is used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to trigger some disaster declarations and loan eligibility. Individual states and water supply planning may use additional information to inform their declarations and actions.
NOAA

The Mississippi River is also suffering from the lack of rainfall. Parts of it are seeing record lows, causing shipments of crops to be slowed or canceled. Farmers like Mitchell often rely on government assistance when the elements are consistently unfavorable for farming. State Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson says in addition to crop insurance, there are low-interest loans for farmers of all kinds to take advantage of during the drought.

“There are drought relief programs through the farm service agency such as low interest loans through the FSA that's underwritten by the United States Department of Agriculture,” he said. “And then for livestock producers, there is the livestock forage assistance program to help a little bit on the cost of… having to buy extra hay.”

Gipson says there are currently 35,000 farms in Mississippi.