Row Crop Short Course Supports Producers and Industry

Challenges

• The annual Row Crop Short Course connects Mississippians in agriculture with industry professionals, Extension experts, and university researchers, providing insights on current agricultural challenges and solutions.
• The short course offers opportunities for license renewals, recertifications, and earning CEU credits.
• Extension faculty/researchers from across the southern region provide practical solutions that help producers optimize their inputs, reduce costs, and improve overall crop management efficiency.

Extension Response

The annual 2.5-day event at The Mill at MSU draws about 700 attendees. The economic impact analysis is based on a survey that represents 964,030 acres.

• MSU faculty and industry experts provided information on row crop pest management, fertility, irrigation, cover crops, agronomy, agricultural policy, and farm management.
• Survey results showed that 92% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they increased their knowledge from the short course, and 94% planned to share what they learned during the event with others. 82% of respondents expected to use resource materials provided during the short course.
• Participants reported expected earnings per acre from knowledge gained during the short course, with corn, cotton, and soybeans being the most represented commodities.
• These earnings estimates were used in IMPLAN, an economic modeling software, to assess the short course’s financial impact on the state.
• Estimated increases in proprietor income were calculated by multiplying the dollar-per-acre average by participant total acreage, reflecting the direct financial gains to participants.
• The total value added to production for corn, cotton, hay, peanuts, pine timber, rice, soybeans, and wheat is $17,106,398.

Economic Impacts

• Total impact: The Row Crop Short Course contributed $214 million in total output to Mississippi businesses.
• Direct impacts: 468 jobs added within row crop sectors, $124.4 million in output (sales) generated in row crop agriculture, and $24.9 million in labor income added to row crop sectors.
• Indirect impacts: Industries supporting row crop agriculture (e.g., seed, fertilizer, and equipment companies) saw an additional 465 jobs added, $60.2 million in output, and $20.6 million in labor income.
• Induced impacts: Household spending from employees in row crop and supporting industries resulted in 181 jobs added, $29.4 million in output, and $7.9 million in labor income.

M2480-04 (09-25)

Devon Mills, PhD, Assistant Professor, Agricultural Economics

Whitney Crow, PhD, Associate Professor, Agricultural Science and Plant Protection

Brian Pieralisi, PhD, Assistant Professor, Plant and Soil Sciences