Ag industry posted 2020 estimated value of $7.35B
Mississippi farmers generated an estimated agricultural value of $7.35 billion in 2020, a 5% increase from 2019 that saw soybeans top forestry for the No. 2 spot behind poultry.
The predicted total ag value exceeds 2019’s production value of $7.01 billion, marking the ninth consecutive year that agriculture topped $7 billion in the state.
Keith Coble, head of the Mississippi State University Department of Agricultural Economics, said the year did not start out looking good.
“We did some midyear analysis on June 1, and the economic picture for farm products looked pretty bleak,” Coble said. “We went through unprecedented losses early to midyear, but markets have generally improved in the latter portion of the year.”
Josh Maples, an agricultural economist with the MSU Extension Service, said poultry took a hit from Covid19-related issues and dropped 16% in value. But row crops were strong, posting a combined $2.6 billion estimated value.
“This was a turbulent year for all agricultural producers due to the market upheaval caused by the pandemic,” he said. “Poultry production was especially impacted during the spring by demand disruptions. Row crop markets also faced low prices and uncertainty early in the year before stronger prices in the fall helped boost the value of production.”
Although rebounding markets and prices helped the year end stronger than expected for some commodities, higher than normal government payments of an estimated $930 million helped make up some of the gap caused by early market devastation. In 2019, Mississippi growers received $599 million in various forms of government payments.
Josh Maples said coronavirus response programs made up a significant portion of the government payments.
“The Coronavirus Food Assistance Programs 1 and 2 were the primary relief programs for farmers who faced price declines and additional marketing costs due to COVID-19,” Josh Maples said. “The other programs included the traditional farm bill programs like Agriculture Risk Coverage, Price Loss Coverage and conservation programs.”
At an estimated value of $2.16 billion, poultry continues to be the state’s major ag commodity, despite declining from the $2.57 billion value it posted in 2019.
“The estimated 2020 Mississippi broiler value of production is $1.9 billion, which is down 19.5% due primarily to inventory disruptions during the spring and weaker prices,” Josh Maples said. “The number of broiler chicks hatched in Mississippi from April to June was 12% lower in 2020 than in 2019, and prices during these months were exceptionally low.”
While broilers were down, eggs were up 21%. Eggs make up about one-tenth of the overall value of poultry to Mississippi. Eggs increased to an estimated value of $260 million.
“This increase is driven by stronger prices, especially during the spring months,” Josh Maples said. “Eggs faced significant production challenges during the COVID-19 shut