Catfish to Cotton, Mississippi Co-ops Make a Difference
The Deep South doesn't usually spring to
mind when thinking about regions of the United States where cooperatives play a major role
in the economy. While cooperatives are not as predominant there as in rural areas of the
Midwest, California or the Great Lakes region, cooperatives in the Deep South are
nonetheless helping to fuel the economy in a region that has historically lagged behind
the nation in such critical areas as per capita income and employment. The special focus
of this issue shows how cooperatives in Mississippi are helping strengthen the fiber of
the state's rural economy.
Agriculture is still the No. 1 industry in
Mississippi and employs more than 30 percent of the workforce, directly or indirectly. So
when a catfish jumps in Mississippi, the ripples are felt all across the state's economy.
The Delta Pride Catfish cooperative - which had $11 0 million in sales in 1997 - is
helping to boost grower income through value-added products, create jobs and generate
economic activity that helps support many related businesses. Feed mills, hatcheries,
supply stores and the co-op's own processing facilities all create jobs and bring economic
vitality to rural communities. Each member of Delta Pride also hires an average of nine
workers on their farms.
The Staple Cotton Cooperative Association
(Staplcotn), headquartered in Greenwood, Miss., has a similar impact by compounding the
strength of its individual growers in cotton marketing and warehousing. This year it
expects to store and market 1.5 million bales of Mississippi-grown cotton. Region-wide, it
will market 2 million bales of cotton worth $700 million. As one member says in the
article that begins on page 14, "Having a marketing cooperative keeps the whole
cotton marketing system honest." It is impossible to overestimate the importance of
this "watchdog" role played by cooperatives in ensuring that growers receive a
fair return for their efforts. This benefits not only co-op members, but all growers in an
industry.
Staplcotn also exemplifies how cooperatives can
play a major role in helping provide financial services to members. It currently holds $55
million in loans made to members for crop production and capital improvements on their
farms.
Specialty crop cooperatives in Mississippi and
other parts of the South have been organized by lowresource and minority farmers to sell
fresh vegetables to central-city markets and cities as far north as Chicago. The Indian
Springs Farmers Cooperative, featured on page 4, even markets melons and other vegetables
in Canada. When we last featured this co-op in 1993, it was striving to build its own
packing shed. It took a little longer than anticipated, but the cooperative's packing
operation is now in full swing, and the association should be packaging value-added food
items by this fall. Within a few years, it hopes to be selling $1 million worth of produce
annually, about four times more than it does at present.
The plight of black growers has been in the
news a great deal during the last year, so it's good to see how a grower-owned and
operated cooperative can play a role in helping to ensure that black farmers do not
disappear from the nation's rural landscape.
Cooperatively owned businesses have clearly
demonstrated their role in rural development. Not only do cooperatives develop leadership,
which extends to other community organizations and businesses, but the economic impact
they have upon locally owned farms and allied sectors keeps income circulating in these
communities. This leads to more jobs, improved rural infrastructure and more vibrant
communities.
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