Mississippi ag leaders warn of widespread losses, urge federal and state action

Mississippi State University and industry groups told the state Senate Agriculture Committee on Monday that steep input costs and low commodity prices left many row‑crop producers operating at a loss in 2024 and that a repeat in 2025 could force widespread land turnover and bankruptcies.

"This farm bill is already 2 years late," said Dr. Keith Coble, representing Mississippi State University, summarizing the federal policy gap he said left producers with only a temporary emergency payment and no long‑term safety net. He told senators the state needs more funding for extension and research to help farmers with financial management, marketing and input‑cost reductions.

The warning came from several presenters who gave economic snapshots and policy recommendations. Alan Grafton of Pinion Global presented bookkeeping and breakeven data from 22 commercial operations across roughly 153,000 acres and said those operations posted roughly $22 million in cash losses, an average of about $146 per acre. Extrapolating similar patterns statewide, he estimated total losses could approach $550 million for Mississippi’s principal row crops. "We're projecting right now going into the year that they're gonna lose $3,000,000," Grafton said about a…