Mississippi’s farmers and their brethren across the fruited plain are in a mighty struggle to survive. So says Mississippi Delta planter Mike Sturdivant Jr., one to believe.
Sturdivant’s family owns some of the most substantial farmland in the world in Tallahatchie County. He followed his father, the legendary Delta planter Mike Sturdivant Sr., to the farm. His dad died in 2012.
“Big Mike” was also a gentleman of the first degree and a businessman extraordinaire, with interests in hotels and much more, and twice offered himself as a candidate for governor, to no avail.
Sturdivant Sr. was one of the wealthiest people in Mississippi, but he never wore that tag on his shirt collar. True story: Many years ago, probably 30 or so, I foolishly went to an Ole Miss football game at Oxford without a ticket. I had to go through the chagrin of parading outside the stadium with a finger held aloft as I stated my case. “I need one!”
I looked to my side and recognized Mr. Sturdivant doing the same thing. My slight ignominy was totally erased.
Wyatt Emmerich, who publishes more Mississippi newspapers than anyone, wrote that his friend, Mike Sturdivant Jr., told him recently how bad things are in agriculture.
“Sturdivant, whose family has farmed around Glendora for generations, said he knows farmers who are 60-years-old and can’t make a living,” Emmerich wrote. “All they know is farming. How are they going to get a job?
“The tariffs are like pouring salt in a wound … When Trump imposed tariffs, other countries retaliated by imposing tariffs on U.S. farmers. It’s a perfectly horrible storm for our farmers,” Emmerich opined.
While Trump on April 9 backed off imposing the worldwide tariffs for 90 days, that action did not include any relief for China, one of America’s largest farm product customers.
Mississippi growers are joined by others across the country’s Farm Belt who know how much harder their job became when Trump proposed the tariffs,
Michelle Jones, a fourth-generation farmer in south central Montana, was asked if she supports Trump’s use of tariffs on “AgriTalk.”
“No, definitely not,” Jones said. “I don’t think that tariffs are an effective negotiation strategy, and I also don’t think that we’re truly being surgical in how we are applying them.”
The Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation, the state’s largest agricultural organization, issued a recent statement by President Mike McCormick saying it supports international trade “that is fair, balanced, and beneficial to our nation, American agriculture and our citizens. The trade deficit as well as trade abuse by many of our trade partners must be addressed. We believe President Trump is doing that.
“However, trade is critical to the success and livelihood of Mississippi’s farmers. We hope President Trump will find a quick solution to our trade disagreements. Until then, Mississippi’s farmers have begun or will soon begin to plant this year’s crops and go about growing the food, fiber and materials our state needs to feed, clothe, and shelter our citizens.”
Another influential farm-related group, the Stoneville-based Delta Council, hasn’t yet issued a policy statement on the Trump tariffs, but with its annual meeting on the horizon, look for one to be forthcoming.
There’s also the issue of a new Farm Bill. The federal legislation that is renewed every five years to govern the entire specter of American agribusiness is late being finalized in Congress. The bill covers items ranging from crop insurance to food safety to nutrition programs to monetary supports for farmers.
Considering the many political issues facing farmers, the fact that costs to farm are surging, the realization that inclement weather could always ruin a crop, and there’s no new Farm Bill, Sturdivant seems right on in his observation.
Mac Gordon, a retired newspaperman, is a native of McComb. He can be reached at macmarygordon@gmail.com.
