BELZONI, Miss.–Part of the consequences of not getting enough rain this summer is a weaker corn crop. That’s especially true for farmers in the Delta, say experts at the Mississippi State Extension Service.
“Corn crop condition varies considerably depending on whether it is grown in fields with supplemental irrigation or not,” said Erick Larson, grain crops specialist with the Extension Service.
“Mississippi corn dependent on rain has gone since early June without much appreciable rainfall, so the crop outlook has diminished considerably in that time.”
Delta growers also decreased the acreage of corn this year and increased the amount of cotton and soybeans planted.
Producers planted about 580,000 acres of corn in the state this year, which is down 27 percent from 2023, when 790,000 acres were planted. But, the likelihood of a weaker harvest in Mississippi will probably not affect the overall price of corn that consumers pay because plenty of corn was planted in the Midwest.
