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One more weekend to take advantage of the 2013 Fall Agritourism Season!

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Join the fun! Find local agritourism operations registered with the Mississippi Agritourism Association by clicking on the pumpkins here http://mississippiagritourism.org/member_map.htm or using the list format.  Search your county for operations using the Mississippi Development Authority website: http://www.visitmississippi.org/agritourism.aspx.
Agritourism is the fastest growing sector in the tourism industry and is making a positive impact on rural economies in Mississippi. … Continue reading

Cash/Share Rental Rates in Mississippi

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Cash rental rates have trended upward throughout Mississippi in all four geographic/soil regions while share rental rates have remained relatively constant.  However, cash rental agreements have become more common relative to share contracts as the number of share contracts have dwindled according to surveys conducted by Mississippi State.
Rental rates for corn producers have seen rate increases of around 25% since 2008 with the exception of the Hills Region which was about the same in 2012 as in 2008. … Continue reading

September WASDE Report Revises Corn Yields Higher and Soybean Yields Lower

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CORN
After all of the news from crop scouts in the corn belt a few weeks ago, the much anticipated September WASDE report has been released. One of the bigger surprises came with the estimated corn yield. Pre-report estimates were expecting a reduction in corn yields from last month on news that the Iowa corn crop was not as good as previously thought. … Continue reading

Extension Service Reports Serve as “Informational Text” for Teachers

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Teachers and administrators throughout the US are learning how to implement the latest innovation in education. The aim of the voluntary Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is to increase the competitiveness of the U.S. in the global marketplace by requiring students to practice the higher ordered thinking skills necessary in the 21st century. Its goal is to produce nation-wide academic benchmarks for students. … Continue reading

Crop Market Update – Sept 6, 2013

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Cereal Grains & Soybeans (by: Brian Williams)
It has been a tough week for corn markets again this week. Much of the downward pressure in the corn markets is because we are expecting a record corn crop this fall. Harvest is also in full gear in much of the South, with 34% of Mississippi’s corn harvest already complete. … Continue reading

Economic Output for Mississippi’s Counties

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Most of us understand that the term “Gross Domestic Product” refers to the monetary value of value added output of the United States.  But we may not realize that this same concept can be applied to states and counties as indicators of economic growth.
From 2007 to 2012, gross product for Mississippi increased by almost $300 million (33.4%) in real terms (see the following table).  … Continue reading

Optimize Your Facebook Business with Insights

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It’s a familiar question. A new business launches its very own Facebook page and then begins to post content, but engagement is lackluster. Few people interact with the business page. What should a business owner do? The first question to ask is: Why the lackluster interaction? While many factors may contribute to lackluster interaction with fans, … Continue reading

Ronald Coase, of Coase Theorem fame, Dies.

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From the New York Times: (Ronald H. Coase, ‘Accidental’ Economist Who Won a Nobel Prize, Dies at 102)
Ronald H. Coase, whose insights about why companies work and when government regulation is unnecessary earned him a Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science in 1991, died on Monday in Chicago. … Continue reading

The Return of Interest?

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Interest rates as a percentage of annual agricultural expenses have continued to decline reaching a low of 2.4% for U.S. farms.  This marks a decrease of nearly 56% in interest’s contribution to total agricultural expenses since 2002 when, on average, interest accounted for 5.4% of total operating costs. This is due in part to the fact that input costs such as seed, … Continue reading