So we still have some work to do there. Gregory said prices for agriculture products continue to be depressed. Prices are very bad this year, Gregory said. If supplies stay high worldwide, which it looks like they might, prices will remain bad and the farmers won t make any money. Everyone else on the marketing chain is able to pass along costs much easier than farmers.
Farmers have much more difficulty passing on increased costs to the customer.
A lot of growers in Mississippi store soybeans and cotton after harvest for sale in February and March when they hope prices will be higher. While news of drought and heat elsewhere in the U.S. might lead people to believe that the harvest will be reduced, leading to more favorable marketing conditions, Gregory said most of the bad weather was in the Northeast. But the largest production of staple crops is in the Midwestern Grain Belt which hasn t experienced significant drought problems. Even with all the news about drought, there is still a large supply of corn and soybeans on the market, Gregory said. Catfish farming continues to be one of the few bright spots in Mississippi agriculture.