C O R N

Corn acreage should be sustained in Mississippi due to many significant agronomic benefits it produces in rotation systems and advantages of the regional corn market. Corn grown in crop rotation significantly increases productivity of all crops in the long run. Reports consistently indicate 10-25% yield advantages for cotton or soybeans grown in rotation with corn on Mississippi farms.

Crop rotations normally improve yields because many weed, insect, nematode and disease problems build up when using the same management program every year in continuous cropping. Crop rotation systems effectively disrupt many of these cumulative effects, preventing problems and reducing input costs.

Corn rotations can also improve soil physical structure by recycling more organic matter than cotton or soybeans and changing from a tap rooted crop to a fibrous root system. Growers can maintain these benefits by continuing to rotate crops on a yearly basis.