Changing Cropping Patterns in the Midsouth

CHANGING CROPPING PATTERNS IN THE MIDSOUTH L. Arnold Siniard Cropping patterns in the middle part o f the southern United States, the M idsouth, have been changing rapidly. Cotton no longer is “king” in most states; ind eed, it never w as “king” in terms o f areal land use except in limited areas o f certain states. In most parts o f the Midsouth co m has been foremost in cropland acreage. But in many areas corn has now lost this primate position to the soybean, a relative new comer to the southern scene. Recently, w heat acreage also has been increasing rapidly in association w ith the soybean in a double-cropping system. This paper shows how the changing importance o f co m , soybeans and w heat has led to the em ergence o f new cropping patterns, and w hy these patterns differ from p lace to place. The study area includes four entire states —A labama, A rkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi—and parts o f Flo rid a, Ken­ tucky, Missouri, and Tennessee (Fig ure 1). This area includes the Mississippi A lluvial Valley, (1) the largest and most productive area o f cotton culture in the M idsouth today and, also, its dominant soybean region. In addition, the study area includes those areas on either side o f the A lluvial Valley into w hich soybean culture appears to be spreading most rapidly. THE DECLINE OF CORN. The South generally cannot compete w ith the Co m Belt o f the Midw est in grow ing co m for the cash market. The South has long been a corn deficit area, and large quantities o f midw estem com move to southern markets each year. A lthough production per acre in the Midsouth has been increasing, it remains much low er than in the Co m Belt. In 1967, for example, average production in Illinois reached 100 bushels per acre w hile average production in the Midsouth ranged from 40 bushels in Louisiana to 58 bushels in Tennessee. (2) Figure 2 indicates that in the area w here soils are most fertile and farms and fields largest, the A lluvial Valley, com is less important than in the less fertile uplands to the east. Fig ure 3 indicates, moreover, that corn acreage has declined more in the A lluvial Valley than in these upland areas. But co m has declined in importance almost everyw here in the Midsouth since 1959, bo th in acreage and in production (Table 1). Several factors appear to be significant in this d ecline. First, there are those conditions w hich make Midsouth co m generally costly to produce and, therefore, less able to compete in cash markets: low soil fertility, small M r . S i n i a r d is i n s t r u c t o r i n g e o g r a p h y a t M e m p h i s S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y , M e m p h i s . T h e p a p e r w a s a c c e p t e d f o r p u b l i c a t i o n i n S e p t e m b e r 1 9 6 9 . 60 S o u t h e a s t e r n G e o g r a p h e r THE MIDSOUTH ALLUVIAL VALLEY AREAS THE BLACK BELT THE NASHVILLE BASIN FIG. I SOURCES: BASE MAP: U. S. BUREAU OF THE CENSUS, MAP SERIES GE-50, 1965 AREAS: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE UNITED STATES, I960 Vo l . X , N o . 2 61 farm size, and high transport costs to markets. Second , there is competition for use o f the land from other crops such as cotton and soybeans, and in certain areas rice and sugar cane. These crops grow best in the same areas w here physiographic and fertility conditions are best for co m . In 1966 in Bolivar Co unty...