mississippi farm country july/august 2011

A Publication of Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation • MSFB.org

FARMM I S S I S S I P P I

COUNTRYJULY/AUGUST 2011

VOLUME 87 NO. 4

Telling FarmBureau’s Story

3MISSISSIPPI FARM COUNTRY

CONTENTS

Features1100 MARKETING CATTLECattlemen in Jasper and Smithcounties are working together tosuccessfully market their cows in an innovative way. Come with us as we learn more.

1188 FLOODS AND TORNADOESMississippi experienced destructiveflooding and tornadoes this pastspring. See the photographs andinformation inside.

2266 SOLVE THE MYSTERYWhich Sunflower County town is known as the site where the Southern crosses the Yellow Dog?Read the clues and make your guess.

Departments44 President’s Message

66--77 Commodity Update:Soybeans and Cotton

1166 Public Policy Notes2244 Counsel’s Corner

About the coverMattie Carter of Rolling Fork is our first Farm Bureau Ambassador. She is charged with telling Farm Bureau’s story and teaching consumersabout agriculture. Mattie is pictured at the Mississippi Agriculture &Forestry Museum/National Agricultural Aviation Museum in Jackson.Read her story on page 8.

“Our mission is to create an environmentin which Mississippi farmers, ranchers,and Farm Bureau members can have a

better life and make a better living.”

MMIISSSSIISSSSIIPPPPII FFAARRMM CCOOUUNNTTRRYYVolume 87 Number 4July/August 2011

MMiissssiissssiippppii FFaarrmm CCoouunnttrryy(ISSN 1529-9600) magazine ispublished bimonthly by the

Mississippi Farm Bureau® Federation.

EDITORIAL and BUSINESS OFFICES6311 Ridgewood Road Jackson, MS 39211601-977-4153

EEDDIITTOORR - Glynda Phillips

AADDVVEERRTTIISSIINNGGNational – Paul Hurst – 1-800-397-8908Southeastern U.S. – Angela Thompson

1-800-227-8244 ext. 4242

FFAARRMM BBUURREEAAUU OOFFFFIICCEERRSSPresident – Randy Knight

Vice President – Donald GantVice President – Ted KendallVice President – Reggie Magee

Treasurer – Billy DavisCorporate Secretary – Ilene Sumrall

FFAARRMM BBUURREEAAUU DDIIRREECCTTOORRSSDr. Jim Perkins, IukaMike Graves, Ripley

B.A. Teague, New AlbanyBill Ryan Tabb, Cleveland

Coley L. Bailey, Jr., CoffeevilleNeal Huskison, PontotocJeffrey R. Tabb, WalthallBobby Moody, Louisville

Wanda Hill, IsolaJames Foy, Canton

William Jones, MeridianJames Brewer, ShubutaStanley Williams, Mt. OliveLonnie Fortner, Port GibsonMoody Davis, Brookhaven

Mike McCormick, Union ChurchD.P. O’Quinn, PurvisGerald Moore, Petal

Clifton Hicks, LeakesvilleKen Mallette, VancleaveBetty Mills, Winona

Noble Guedon, Natchez

HHOONNOORRAARRYY VVIICCEE--PPRREESSIIDDEENNTTSSLouis Breaux, David H. Bennett

Warren Oakley

Farm Bureau members receive this publication as part of their membership benefit. Periodicals postageis paid at Jackson, MS and at additional mailing offices.

Postmaster: Send address changes toP. O. Box 1972, Jackson, MS 39215

Material in this publication is based on what the editorbelieves to be reliable information. Neither Mississippi FarmBureau Federation nor those individuals or organizationscontributing to the MFBF publication assume any liabilityfor errors that might go undetected in the publication —this includes statements in articles or advertisements thatcould lead to erroneous personal or business managementdecisions.

FARM BUREAU®, FB® and all Farm Bureau logos used inthis magazine are registered service marks owned by theAmerican Farm Bureau Federation. They may not be usedin any commercial manner without the prior written consentof the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Design: Coopwood Communications, Inc.

JULY/AUGUST

JULY/AUGUSTMISSISSIPPI FARM COUNTRY4

As a third-generation Mississippi farmer, I am remindeddaily of God’s infinite goodness. I see His hand in everysprouting seed and newborn calf, in every timely rain

and nourishing ray of sunlight. I know that you feel the same way because that’s what makes

Farm Bureau so special. Our members are salt-of-the-earth folkswho possess strong traditional values. Along with an experiencedand dedicated state staff, these men and women work hard each yearto create an environment in which all Mississippians can have a bet-ter life and earn a better living.

Sometimes I think that Farm Bureau is one of Mississippi’s best-kept secrets. When you ask a nonmember about our organization,you usually hear that we are an insurance company. While we dooffer an excellent insurance program, we are so much more than justinsurance. Our legislative efforts alone are worth the cost of amembership.

Each year, Farm Bureau endeavors to see that laws are passedthat reflect the conservative values of our grassroots members.One issue that we feel very strongly about is private propertyrights. As a result of Farm Bureau’s tireless efforts, a private prop-erty rights initiative will be included on the 2011 ballot. When youparticipate in the November general election, make sure that youlook for Initiative #31 and vote YES for strong private propertyrights laws.

During the 2011 Session of the Mississippi Legislature, FarmBureau was able to see that legislation was passed that will providefor the continuation of funding for Mississippi State University’sagricultural units. In addition, we worked closely with legislatorsand other organizations to ensure the passage of legislation au-thorizing a specialty tag for the Farm Families of Mississippi, thecontinuation of the Rice Promotion Board, the allocation of addi-tional monies to the Emerging Crop Fund, the ability of county su-pervisors to bury dead livestock if they belong to a 10,000 confinedanimal feeding operation, and the creation of a second-offensefelony for animal cruelty.

Farm Bureau is proud to be a grassroots agricultural advocatethat works from the county up. Each county has a Farm Bureauboard representing the interests of its members. County Farm Bu-reau boards pass along their members’ interests through the devel-opment of policy at the state level.

Our Public Policy program has one full-time lobbyist, whoworks with legislation on the state and national levels. She does anexcellent job of tracking legislation and advancing Farm Bureau’s

legislative agenda. Her work is a collaborative effort and consistsof building relationships not only with lawmakers and regulators butalso with our members.

Public Policy is an important membership program that providesa means for you, the Farm Bureau member, to stay informed aboutlegislative issues and to be part of a unified voice working to en-hance the lives of rural Mississippians. What a bargain. For just thecost of a membership, you gain access to a network of like-mindedpeople and to great programs like Public Policy. We also offermany cost-saving benefits, which you will find listed on the ad-joining page. For more information, contact Member Benefits Co-ordinator Dedra Luke at (601) 977-4169.

To give you an even better idea of all that Farm Bureau has tooffer, I plan to talk about other Farm Bureau programs and bene-fits in future issues of our magazine.

In conclusion, I would like to remind you that Mississippi FarmBureau Federation stands 200,000 members strong and we arededicated to making a difference in your life. If you receive thismagazine in the mail, you are a member and you already know this.I would encourage you to help us spread the word. Tell your neigh-bors and others about Farm Bureau and encourage them to join.

Because there’s something else Farm Bureau members know alltoo well.

There is definitely strength in numbers.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Randy Knight, PresidentMississippi Farm Bureau Federation

Farm Bureau:Making a Difference

As this issue of our magazine was going to press, theMississippi River was about to crest at an historic levelin Vicksburg. Some flooding had already occurred, andwe were keeping apprised of this situation. We arealso concerned about victims of recent tornadoes inour state. The board of directors of the MississippiFarm Bureau (MFB) Foundation and Relief Fund hasapproved collecting funds for assisting the victims ofthese disasters who have uninsured ag losses. Seepage 16 for more information about this relief fund.See pages 18-23 for flood and tornado photos andinformation. Thank you for your generosity in assistingfellow Farm Bureau members who had uninsured aglosses during these disasters.

Disaster Funds


From a young farmer’s perspective, I am often asked what ismy biggest concern regarding the future of agriculture in Amer-ica. At first, many things come to mind. Among them are: envi-ronmental regulations, world trade uncertainty, volatile com-modity markets, weather, cost of inputs, and the availability offarmland. However, one topic comes to mind that overshadows allof the rest.

That concern is the overwhelming lack of understanding thatthe general public has about production agriculture in America.The American farmer now represents less than 2 percent of the na-tion’s population, and the average American is now two or threegenerations removed from the farm. I am constantly amazed at justhow little the average person knows about farming and its im-portance. I truly believe this is probably the biggest challenge ourindustry faces in the future. As the current chair of the MississippiFarm Bureau Federation Soybean Producer Advisory Committeeand an active member of the Mississippi Soybean PromotionBoard, I felt it would be helpful to provide our state’s soybean pro-ducers with a brief update on some of the important and success-ful consumer educational efforts of the state and national soybeancheckoff programs of which he/she may not be aware.

In addition to the vital production research projects with whichmost producers are familiar that are funded by the checkoff pro-gram funds (rust detection, yield enhancement, resistance man-agement, etc.), there are a number of large-scale educational ef-forts that are being undertaken by the soybean checkoff programs.

These include:

● United Soybean Board (USB) (www.unitedsoybean.org)The United Soybean Board is the national checkoff that issupported through one-half of all state checkoff fund col-lections. USB has played a major role in educating the pub-lic through numerous avenues on key agricultural issues.

First, the USB has recently joined The U.S. Farmers & Ranch-ers Alliance (USFRA). U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance repre-sents more than 30 of the leading farmer and rancher-led agri-cultural organizations. These organizations have joined togetherto fund programs that bolster the image of agriculture and enhancepublic trust in our food supply (www.usfraonline.org).

A second major focus of the USB is the launch of an entire me-

dia campaign specifically promoting the importance of animalagriculture to the local and state economy (www.animalag.org).As the livestock and poultry industries are the country’s numberone user of soybean meal, USB felt it necessary to better educatethe public concerning the importance of these industries locally.

● Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board (MSPB)(www.mssoy.org)

The Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board is a group of Mis-sissippi soybean farmers who administer the state portion of thecheckoff fund collections set aside for local research and promo-tions. For three consecutive years now, the MSPB has partneredwith Mississippi Farm Bureau and over 70 other state agriculturalorganizations/industry partners to launch an agricultural awarenessmedia campaign (Farm Families of Mississippi) to reach urban ar-eas of Mississippi with information about the importance of agri-culture.

Just in its second year of operation, this campaign has alreadyshown tremendous success in influencing public perception onkey agricultural issues. For more information about the “FarmFamilies” campaign, visit: (www.growingmississippi.org).

In summary, I would encourage Mississippi soybean farmersto visit the Web pages listed above to learn more about how theirstate and national soybean checkoff programs are making greatstrides in informing the public about the importance of this greatindustry of which I am so proud to be a part.

COMMODITY UPDATE: SOYBEANS

Soybean Checkoff Plays Key Role in Educating Public

Bill Ryan Tabb Justin Ferguson

Bill Ryan Tabb, MFBF Soybean Advisory Committee ChairJustin Ferguson, MFBF Commodity Coordinator for Soybeans

7MISSISSIPPI FARM COUNTRYJULY/AUGUST

In their March 31 planting intentions report,the United States Department of Agriculture(USDA) reported that total U.S. cotton acresare estimated to be around 12.6 million, a 15percent increase nationally over 2010 plantedacres. The largest increase, at 548,000 acresabove 2010 levels, is expected in Texas. ForMississippi, USDA reported intentions to plantan estimated 530,000 acres in 2011, up about110,000 acres from 2010.

In Texas, the nation’s largest cotton-pro-ducing state that plants 6.1 million acres alone(or half the U.S. crop), weather is playing amajor factor on the potential of the cottoncrop. Most of all cotton-growing areas in Texasare experiencing severe drought conditions.In fact, the entire state just endured its driestseven-month span on record. Certain areas ofthe state have received less than 1 inch of rainin the last three months, which is around 12percent of normal rainfall for the area. Signif-icant pockets of drought also exist in parts ofGeorgia and Alabama, specifically in areaswhere the least irrigation is used.

At the time this article was written (May11), Mississippi farmers were facing an immi-nent threat of flooding by the Mississippi andYazoo rivers in the South Delta. Most areas onthe Mississippi River are predicted to exceedthe 100-year flood levels by 4 feet, and 1973flood levels by 7 feet. In addition, other areas,such as Marks and Lambert, are still experi-encing flooding due to the excessive rainfallreceived in late April in the very northwest cor-ner of the state.

The impact of the amount of rainfall re-ceived this year has delayed planted progressa great deal. As of May 8, USDA reported thatMississippi’s cotton crop was 19 percentplanted. Normally, the state’s crop is 50 per-

cent planted at this point in the growing sea-son. The impact of the flooding is also antici-pated to destroy the crop in many areas andhinder further planting as the situation pro-gresses. According to the Mississippi Depart-ment of Agriculture & Commerce, over900,000 acres of farmland could be impactedunder many conditions.

Arkansas (who typically ranks third in U.S.cotton production) has already seen disaster.There, 63 counties have been declared disasterareas due to heavy rainfall, storms and flood-ing in April. The Arkansas Farm Bureau esti-mates the agricultural sector will take a hit ofmore than $500 million. Louisiana is also brac-ing for flooding and the impacts of the open-ing of the Morganza Spillway to ease the ten-sion on the Mississippi River, with anestimated 18,000 acres of land at risk.

Despite this news, there has been little im-mediate reaction from the cotton market, asUSDA has yet to get a full picture of what theU.S. crop may yield. In their recent WorldAgricultural Supply & Demand Estimate(WASDE) released on May 11, USDA projectsthe U.S. cotton crop at 18 million bales, virtu-ally unchanged from 2010. Ending stocks areprojected at 2.5 million bales, 43 percent above2010-11, but still the second-lowest level since1990-91. However, market experts expectMother Nature to show her face on the tradingfloor as soon as USDA gets a better handle onwhat the 2011 crop may look like as time goesby.

In summary, nationally and here in the Mid-South, the cotton crop is facing much uncer-tainty as the 2011 growing season begins.Please keep the producers who provide this im-portant fiber we depend upon in your thoughtsand prayers as we face such difficult times.

Justin Ferguson

Clint Tindall

Clint Tindall, MFBF Cotton Advisory Committee ChairJustin Ferguson, MFBF Commodity Coordinator for Cotton

COMMODITY UPDATE: COTTON

U.S. Cotton CropFacing Early Challenges

JULY/AUGUST

arm Bureau Ambassador Mattie Carterof Rolling Fork carries on a family tra-dition that has spanned many genera-

tions. Her family members have long been ac-tive in Farm Bureau as outspoken advocates foragriculture.

Mattie’s paternal grandfather, Delta rowcrop farmer Jimmie Dick Carter, served as astate vice president for many years. Her pater-nal grandmother, Leta Carter, was a countywomen’s chair. Mattie’s mother Emily servedas Miss Farm Bureau-Mississippi 1983, andboth Emily and husband Clark spent time onthe Young Farmers and Ranchers State Com-mittee.

Mattie’s maternal grandparents, Rev. andMrs. Wiley Reid of Brookhaven, are longtimeFarm Bureau members who have acres of tim-ber and a bountiful summer garden.

Farm Bureau Ambassador“I was so excited when they created this

contest,” Mattie said. “I didn’t have much in-terest in competing in a pageant, but a publicspeaking contest about agriculture sounded ex-citing.

“As Farm Bureau Ambassador, I get to meetpeople and answer their questions about agri-culture,” she said. “My generation has grown soremoved from farm life. I get to tell peopleacross Mississippi what agriculture does forthem and how important it is to our state’seconomy.

“I also get to introduce people to Farm Bu-reau,” she said. “A lot of the work of Farm Bu-reau may go unnoticed because of the miscon-ception that we’re simply insurance. But weoffer so much to families through policy, safetyprograms, and farm education.”

Mattie says growing up on a Delta row cropfarm influenced her desire for a future career in

F

8


agricultural policy. Other deciding factors included 4-H and FarmBureau.

“Growing up on a farm engaged my interest in working in ag,”she said. “In 4-H, I competed in nearly every possible category, atfirst because I had to. That gave me a tough skin. My family’s in-volvement in Farm Bureau and other organizations introduced meto people and programs in agriculture.”

Mattie notes that Tara Smith has served as a great role model. Taraworked in governmental affairs for the American Farm Bureau Fed-eration for many years and is now a senior staff member in the Sen-

ate Ag Committee for crop insurance and commodity titles for Sen.Pat Roberts of Kansas.

“I visited with Tara recently on a trip to D.C.” she said. “It is goodto see another woman successful in the area you want to work in.This summer, I’ll be interning there with Terpstra Associates, as wellas Technology Transition Corporation.”

The junior at Mississippi State University says she would like towork in either governmental affairs for an agricultural organizationor as a congressional staff member when she graduates.

“That is my dream,” she said. “But whatever I decide to do, I’dlike to spend some time on Capitol Hill. My parents have alwaysbeen very supportive of me. They tell me I can do anything I wantto do with my life. They have instilled in me a willingness to try newthings and to not be afraid of making mistakes.”

Other ActivitiesIn addition to Farm Bureau, Mattie is involved with the Stennis-

Montgomery Association; MSU College Republicans, where she has

served as an officer; Service Dawgs, a community service or-ganization; the MSU Student Association; Campus Crusade forChrist; student campaigns and elections; the Montgomery Lead-ership Honors Program, and Phi Mu Sorority. She is the recipi-ent of the bronze, silver, and gold Congressional Youth Awardmedals.

Mattie has served 4-H as a state officer, state leadership teammember and national 4-H conference delegate. She is currentlya 4-H volunteer on the county level.

She is a member of Lake Washington Baptist Church in GlenAllan.

Mattie has worked as a volunteer for several political cam-paigns.

Her hobbies include horseback riding and bicycle riding. Farm Bureau Ambassador Mattie Carter would love to speak

at your county annual meeting or board meeting. For more in-formation, contact Women’s Program Coordinator Clara Bilbo at1-800-227-8244, Extension 4245.

Telling

Story

“I didn’t have much interest incompeting in a pageant, but apublic speaking contest aboutagriculture sounded exciting.”

Farm Bureau’sBy Glynda Phillips

On a chilly night this past spring, Ricky Ruffin wasawakened by a cow bawling beneath his bedroom win-dow. Reluctant to leave his warm bed, he nonetheless

grabbed a flashlight and headed outdoors only to find that hisyard was full of cows.

“I thought at first they were my cattle,” he said. “But Iquickly discovered they belonged to a neighbor.” Never think-ing twice about helping a fellow farmer, Ruffin herded the cowsinto one of his own pastures, where they docilely remained un-til the owner could come and get them.

Farmers in Jasper and Smith counties have always pos-sessed a cooperative mindset. In more recent years, that way ofthinking has helped them surface and implement a new and verysuccessful way of marketing their cattle.

“We did our research and discovered what could be accom-plished if we were willing to work together to achieve a com-mon goal,” Ruffin said.

Here is their extraordinary story.

A Little HistorySome fifteen years ago, beef producers in Jasper and Smith

counties realized if they didn’t make changes in how theyraised and marketed their cattle, they would soon be left behind.Consumers were becoming more health conscious and vocal

Market Cattleabout what they were willing to purchase in the grocery store, and ex-perts were telling farmers that prices of cattle were going to be basedon the quality of the meat as determined by the grade and yield at thetime of slaughter. Premium prices would be paid for 50,000-pound lotswith similar weights, color and sex.

“Historically, our cattlemen have done the same thing their parentsand grandparents did as far as raising and marketing their cattle. Mostof them felt that changing the routine would not work,” said CharlesWaldrup, a retired Smith County Extension agent and the current ex-ecutive director of the Smith County Economic Development District.

“Fortunately, we had John Rufus Sims.”Sims was a Jasper County supervisor who helped develop the very

successful feeder pig sales in Mississippi under the guidance of theMississippi Cooperative Extension Service (now known as the Mis-sissippi State University Extension Service) and the Mississippi De-partment of Ag and Commerce. He believed farmers could do some-thing similar with cattle.

At about the same time, Mississippi State University’s Farm to

Innovative Way to

By Glynda Phillips


Feedlot program was in its infancy and getting attention from cat-tlemen throughout the state. Producers were encouraged to put to-gether truckload lots of cattle to be sold at market. Farmers triedthis, but weights varied among the calves and some confusion ex-isted as to just exactly what packers wanted in terms of types ofcalves.

Sims told farmers they needed to get out and tour cattle opera-tions and livestock facilities in other states to get answers to theirquestions. Out of this was born the annual Beef Tour comprised ofcattlemen from Smith and Jasper counties.

With help from the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation, theMississippi State University Extension Service, Economic De-velopment Districts in Jasper and Smith counties and the boards ofsupervisors in Jasper and Smith counties, farmers were able to visitdifferent areas of the nation — from the West to the Midwest to theSoutheast and the Eastern Seaboard.

They came back excited. “We looked at programs and met with producers and decided

that we wanted to do four things,” said Joe Tally, chair of the SmithCounty Cattlemen’s Association. “We wanted to provide farmerswith better bulls; we wanted a controlled breeding season; wewanted a better herd health program; and we wanted to market ourcattle through uniform truckload lots. I am proud to say that we ac-complished all of these goals.”

The BeginningsFarmers started out by addressing the genetics issue, but a big

obstacle was the high cost of superior bulls.“We decided to collectively purchase 23 superior bulls and

draw straws so that more farmers would have access to the bulls fora set fee. We called this the Bull Lease Program, and it has been verysuccessful,” said Waldrup. “The fee goes toward paying back theamount of money that was used to buy the bulls in the first place.”

Cattlemen soon decided that they needed more bulls, and an ad-ditional 13 bulls were purchased.

“Along with the genetics program, we initiated a uniform andcontrolled breeding system and a good vaccine/health program. Wealso began meeting to talk about a group marketing program,” saidJasper County Extension Director Tommy Bishop.

“We worked together on all of these things, purchasing similarvaccines and using similar weaning and preconditioning methodsso that all of our calves would be uniform,” he said. “It worked outvery well.”

“All of this started with our beef tours in 2001. And everythingwe’ve done has been geared toward getting a good marketing pro-gram down the road,” said Jeremy Maness, Smith County ExtensionDirector. “Jon Kilgore with Farm Bureau participated in some of thebeef tours, and he is the one who eventually came to us with thebest-sounding marketing program. It has been a great thing for ourcattlemen, adding value to our animals.”

“It is amazing how all of this worked out,” said Waldrup. “Wehadn’t decided how we were going to market our calves. But whenit came time to sell our first calves in 2008, we were approachedwith a plan that sounded promising. We agreed to try it.”

Experts with Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation, MississippiState University, and the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association hadmet for two years to come up with a type of marketing system thatwould help Mississippi cattlemen. What they finally settled on wasthe feeder calf board sale. Out of this was born the MississippiHomeplace Producers’ Sale, which is held in Hattiesburg, and the


Cattle producers and buyers are find-ing a win-win method of marketing cat-tle in the Cattlemen’s Exchange andHomeplace Producers’ Sales.

Mississippi State University’s Exten-sion Service is partnering with severalorganizations and sale barns to offerauctions in Winona and Hattiesburg forcattle that may never pass through ei-ther of those cities. Cattle remain ontheir home farms while buyers cast bidsbased on written descriptions of thecattle and video technology.

“These board sales are open to any-one in the state, and any sale barn can

be involved as well,” said Jane Parish,Extension beef cattle specialist. “Thesales work to everyone’s advantage, in-cluding the cattle’s.”

Short video clips of the cattle areposted on the Extension Service andMississippi Farm Bureau FederationWeb sites for buyers to view before thesale, along with detailed descriptionsof cattle type, weight and management.The same videos are presented duringthe auction.

“The cattle do not experience thestress and health challenges from mix-ing with other cattle during a publicsale,” Parish said. “Buyers do not haveto attend several sales to accumulate a

large number of similar cattle. Salebarns still receive commissions buthave fewer overhead expenses. Pro-ducers most often receive a premiumfor their cattle.”

The April sale in Winona set newprice records with 30 loads of calves.The heaviest calves — four loads of875-pound steers — brought $125.75per hundredweight. The lightest — amixed load of 425-pound calves — soldfor $157.75 per hundredweight.

“More than 2,000 cattle were sold inless than an hour,” Parish said. “The re-ceipts from the sales approached $1.9million and averaged well above marketvalue for the week of the sale.”

Cattle producers join forces for better sales

Cattlemen’s Exchange Sale, which is held inWinona.

Board SalesA board sale uses detailed descriptions of

cattle along with still photos or videos dis-played on a Web site and on a screen at theauction house where the sale will be held. Theauction house, which is licensed and bonded,is paid a reduced commission for its use.

The feeder calves aren’t present at thebuyers sale, but producers can look at thephotos or videos on a Web site before thesale. Buyers can either attend the auction andbid, or they can phone in their bids at the timeof the sale.

By Linda BreazealeMSU Ag Communications

These Jasper Countyand Smith Countycattlemen and Extensionexperts worked togetherto surface and implementa new and successfulway of marketing cattle.


Feeder calf board sales benefit cattlemen in several important ways.These sales:

● Allow for uniform lots of calves that bring more money. Cattlemensell 50,000-pound lots of calves that are similar in weight, color andsex.

● Allow for flexibility. If a calf isn’t ready for delivery at the time ofpurchase, a future time and weight are agreed upon. This cutsdown on the amount of handling and commingling the calves ex-perience.

● Reduce shrinkage.● Enhance the reputations of cattlemen because farmers are selling

a higher quality product. Customers come back time and again ifthe calves they purchase perform well.

● Keep money in Mississippi rather than sending money to an out-of-state auction sale.

“We are very pleased with this,” said Jim Sims, president of the JasperCounty Cattlemen’s Association and a member of the advisory com-mittee for the Bull Lease Program. “It has helped us improve our herdsand helped us get more money for our animals. It has been great.”

In the first three years of marketing calves through board sales, ap-proximately 847 calves were sold by farmers in Jasper and Smith coun-ties at an estimated average of $125 a head above the price brought attraditional marketing outlets. An estimated $216,000 over prices receivedat the traditional market outlets has been rewarded back to the beef pro-ducers in Smith and Jasper counties.

“We have cattle that outperform cattle in the Midwest, and we knowthat,” Waldrup said. “We want to get the word out to others. So much ofmarketing depends on reputation.”

“We visited other farms that were successfully doing this, and thatplanted the seeds. We said to ourselves, ‘If they can do this, we can dothis,” said Ruffin. “Some of these operations are way ahead of us andhave a track record for successfully selling their animals directly to feed-lots. We are coming to that one day.”

“Like anything else, this will continue to improve,” said Paul Myrick,

a local cattleman. “We are hoping the next step will be straight to the feedlots, but all of that depends on the beef producers of Smith and Jaspercounties and whether they are willing to take the next step.

“The future of this is in their hands.”

A special thanks to Mike Keene, area Extension agent, Animal Sci-ence/Forages, Mississippi State University Extension Service, for hishelp with this article.

Lance Newman, area animal scienceagent for Extension, said the sales,which started in 2007, are producer-dri-ven.

“Producers needed a way to improvemarketing of cattle. By selling in loadlots, or in groups, they get more moneyfor their cattle,” Newman said. “Thesales appeal to producers of all sizes.Those with smaller herds can combinewith other producers. If prices ever dis-appoint a producer, the seller couldpass and opt for another method ofmarketing the cattle.”

Newman said sale barns are impor-tant in the success of the program.

“Sale barns are licensed andbonded, so producers know they willget a payment for their cattle,” he said.“Barns lower their commission to 2 per-

cent instead of the 4 percent or 5 per-cent that are normal in the sale barn,but they are selling larger numbers ofcattle at one time.”

Ray Welch owns Winona Stockyardand has been supportive of the pro-gram since the beginning. He sells hisown cattle through the board sales.

“These sales are the best way tomaximize profits. Sale barns may getlower commissions, but 2 percent of alot of money is still a good profit,” Welchsaid. “Buyers could have to buy from 10different sales to equal the number ofcattle in one of these loads.”

Van Johnson of Webster County hassold his cattle through sale barns, byprivate treaty and now through theboard sales.

“I like that more buyers see the cattle

and bid against each other. I know I’mgetting the best price,” Johnson said.

MSU’s Extension Service partnerswith the Mississippi Beef Cattle Im-provement Association, MississippiFarm Bureau Federation and Missis-sippi Cattlemen’s Association on thesesales. Since 2008, more than 13,700head of cattle have been marketed inthese board sales. Together, the re-ceipts from these sales exceeded $8million.

The next Mississippi Homeplace Pro-ducers’ Sale will be Aug. 1, and con-signments are due by June 30. Thoseinterested in taking advantage of thismarketing opportunity should contactthe local Extension office or a repre-sentative from one of the partnering or-ganizations.


JULY/AUGUSTMISSISSIPPI FARM COUNTRY

Acting Deputy Undersecretary of Agriculture Karis Gut-ter possesses an appreciation for agriculture that is rooted inthe time he spent as a child on his grandparents’ Tylertownfarm. That 29-acre farm, with its beef cows, specialty crops(including all types of greens), and occasional hog or fewchickens, definitely made an impression on a young boy.

“My grandparents farmed for the love of it,” he said. “Itwas nothing commercial. What they grew fed the family andthe community. I began to really appreciate farming from myexperiences on their farm.”

Gutter might have enjoyedfarm life, but he never thoughthe’d make his career in agri-culture. After receiving a po-litical science degree fromJackson State University (helater obtained a master’s de-gree in Legislative Affairsfrom George Washington Uni-versity), he began working forCongressman Bennie Thomp-son in Washington, D.C., as a senior policy aide.

“Congressman Thompson served on the Ag Committee,and I handled his ag issues — not because I was an expertor anything, but simply because, with my farming back-ground, I understood what was going on in the agriculturalcommunity,” he said. “I worked closely with the House AgCommittee for several years.”

Gutter also served the House Committee on HomelandSecurity, specializing in agro defense policy and minorityagricultural issues.

“When the current farm bill was being written, I wasasked by the Congressional Black Caucus to work with var-ious offices and compile ideas in a framework that madesense,” he said. “Title by title, we identified key areas of in-terest, particularly programs that would help black farmersin the Southeastern states.

“In setting out to help the black farming community sothat we wouldn’t continue to lose these farmers at the pacethat we were losing them, we discovered that many issues inneed of attention were related to a lack of access to re-sources,” he said. “So in helping black farmers, we alsohelped all low income and limited resource farmers.”

Gutter next accepted a presidential appointment as

Deputy Administrator for Field Operations (DAFO) with theUnited States Department of Agriculture. He was responsi-ble for oversight and guidance for executive directors ofFarm Service agencies in 50 states and Puerto Rico and for2,250 county offices. He managed 20,000 employees andoversaw all field operations, ranging from county and statebudgets to staffing issues.

“I enjoyed this job so much,” he said. “We were able tomake some positive changes that have definitely impacted

and benefited agriculture.”Gutter was next appointed

Senior Advisor to the U.S.Secretary of Agriculture.

“The Secretary of Agri-culture is one of the mostamazing guys I have evermet,” he said. “I learn fromhim daily. The departmentjuggles so many balls…fromproduction agriculture to ru-ral development to scientific

research to nutrition.” When the Undersecretary of Agriculture decided to go

back to the Hill to help write the new farm bill, the DeputyUndersecretary of Agriculture took his place and Karis wasasked to serve as Acting Deputy Undersecretary for Farmand Foreign Agricultural Services.

“It’s been awesome to provide input on the farm bill as astaffer on the Hill and now to be in a position to administerthe Title I programs offered through the Farm ServiceAgency and the Risk Management Agency, shaping thesafety net for farm programs.”

Through the years, Karis Gutter has found himself car-rying a great deal of responsibility upon his shoulders. Hesays that the time he spent in the Marine Corps Reserves justafter high school helped train him to remain calm, clear-headed and focused through it all.

“Where I am now, we have a great staff that handles thebig problems extremely well, and I am freed up to deal withthe smaller details that tend to stand in the way,” he said. “Ifind that most problems can be solved by simply bringingpeople together to talk.”

When asked about the upcoming farm bill, Gutter says itwill be different and far more challenging to write.

Grandparents’ Farm Shapes Progressive

“We tend to focus a lot on creating new initiatives. I like to make sure that existing

programs get the support theyneed to be successful.”

Ag Leader

14

By Glynda Phillips


“We weren’t under the same pressure with the economywhen our present farm bill was being written,” he said. “Addi-tionally, the future of the farm safety net will be a contentiousissue.

“When farm receipts tell a story of farmers doing well, itmakes it difficult to argue for increased investment or im-provements in the current safety net and disaster assistanceprograms,” he said. “We need a farm bill that addresses theneeds of today’s agriculture. It must be nimble enough to re-spond to weather and market shifts, but also invest in ruralcommunity infrastructure, technology, education and energyneeds that spur the growth of rural jobs and economy.”

Gutter says he would like to see our nation’s farmers work-ing together for the good of the industry as a whole.

“We have become so regionalized. For example, Midwestfarming is starkly different from farming in the Southeast,” hesaid. “Whereas, there is a great deal of crop diversity here in theSoutheast, the Midwest can afford to invest more resourcesand time into one crop. There are differences in philosophies, cli-mates and soils.”

“We spend an inordinate amount of time competing with eachother because of these differences while countries around theworld are competing against us,” he said. “I hope, as we ap-proach the next farm bill, we can begin to work together to iden-tify ways to improve our status and market share before the rest

of the world gains on us. This is a tough thing.”In Gutter’s opinion, another pressing issue in agriculture to-

day is our nation’s aging farmers.“The average age of a farmer today is 57.1,” he said. “Right

now, 30 percent of our farmers are 65 years old or older. And,whereas, in the past, the average age of a young farmer was 25,today the average age is 27,” he said.

“It’s too easy for young adults to make a living away fromthe farm,” he said. “We need to identify incentives and supportprograms that will help young farmers get in, maintain and be-come successful in farming.”

Gutter says that, in addition to an aging farming population,the skyrocketing costs involved in farming represent anotherchallenge that needs to be addressed in the next farm bill.

In summing up his work for agriculture, Gutter says his phi-losophy has always been to tackle issues that wouldn’t be ad-dressed if he were not there. He pays close attention to detailsin certain niche areas like underserved communities.

“I understand that we need to invest in growth in these com-munities even as we need to cut unnecessary spending. It is abalancing act,” he said. “We tend to focus a lot on creating newinitiatives. I like to make sure that existing programs get the sup-port they need to be successful.”Karis Gutter is a native of Terry, Mississippi, where his fa-

ther resides today.

Grandparents’ Farm Shapes Progressive


Farmers WillRebuild and Replant

In times of disaster, you discover thetrue character of a person or a commu-nity. Here in Mississippi, we know athing or two about helping our neigh-bors rebuild. We have a good, strongnetwork of disaster recovery volunteerswho do a great job of helping whencalled upon.

Through our legislative efforts atMississippi Farm Bureau Federation,we have made it easier for county su-pervisors to help with the clean-up ofpoultry houses. Mississippi Farm Bu-reau also has a disaster fund to help re-pair damage to property, helping cattlefarmers repair damaged fences all acrossthe state.

The tornadoes that ripped throughMississippi in the spring left a wide pathof destruction that will never be forgot-ten. Rebuilding your house and yourbusiness can be tough in the wake of anatural disaster, but there is one thingthat defines a farmer: resilience.

Resilient is what you call the farmersin the Delta who faced the mighty Mis-sissippi River this spring. I do not thinkanyone was prepared for the floodingthat came our way, but our farmers werenot willing to give up without a fight.

Moving all of your household be-longings, your farm equipment, andyour family is enough to exhaust any-one. To watch what had the potential tobe your highest-yielding crops get swal-lowed by the swollen river is also a hardthing to do.

Having a resilient attitude just comeswith being a farmer. It is what helpsthem make it through the trying times.They know that when the water recedes

and the sky clears, they will clean thedebris out of their fields and, weatherpermitting, replant a crop.

It is a pleasure to work for an organ-ization that represents the farmer. With-out the farmer, we would be facinghigher energy and food prices and alarger trade deficit. It is amazing to methat after losing entire crops our Mis-sissippi farmers still contribute to theircommunities and to the state’s overalleconomy.

I’m not sure about you, but I plan toeat my three meals a day and thank ourfarmers for all they have done to providethe abundance of food we can all enjoy.

PUBLIC POLICY NOTES

Disaster Relief FundThe areas in Mississippi that

were hard-hit by the April 2011tornadoes and May-June 2011flooding are populated by manyFarm Bureau members.The board of directors of the

Mississippi Farm Bureau (MFB)Foundation and Relief Fund hasapproved collecting funds forassisting the victims of thesedisasters who have uninsuredag losses. Contributionsthrough the MFB Foundationare tax-deductible, and 100percent of the funds receivedwill be disseminated for use inassisting tornado and flood vic-tims to help in restoring theirfarms and lives.

If your county or anyone inyour county would like to con-tribute to this effort, please sendchecks made payable to “MFBFoundation and Relief Fund” to:

Mississippi Farm Bureau Foundation and Relief FundAttn: Mary TurnerP. O. Box 1972Jackson, Mississippi 39215-1972

Again, all donations will betax-deductible.Thank you for your generos-

ity in assisting our fellow FarmBureau members who haduninsured ag losses duringthese disasters.

By Samantha CawthornMFBF Public Policy Director

MISSISSIPPI FARM COUNTRYJULY/AUGUST

Regional Managers

Matthew Bayles Kevin Brown Britton Hatcher

Calhoun County Farm Bureau

Tuesday, Aug. 16, 7 p.m.Multipurpose Building

Pittsboro

Desoto County Farm BureauTuesday, Aug. 16, 7:30 a.m.

Hernando LibraryHernando

Holmes County Farm BureauThursday, Aug. 4, 10 a.m.

Farm Bureau OfficeLexington

Humphreys County Farm Bureau

Thursday, July 14, 9 a.m.Farm Bureau Office

Belzoni

Jefferson County Farm Bureau

Wednesday, Sept. 7, 7 p.m.Farm Bureau Office

Fayette

Leake County Farm BureauThursday, Sept. 1

6:30 p.m.Farm Bureau Office

Carthage

Lee County Farm BureauSaturday, Aug. 27, 6 p.m.

TN Valley Authority Customer Service Center

3197 Brooks RoadTupelo

Marshall County Farm Bureau

Thursday, Aug. 4, 6 p.m.Marshall County Fairgrounds

Perry County Farm BureauThursday, Aug. 4, 6:30 p.m.

Catfish WagonRunnelstown

* Please bring a dish

Stone County Farm BureauThursday, July 28, 5 p.m.

Farm Bureau OfficeWiggins

Union County Farm BureauThursday, Sept. 8, 7 p.m.Union County Fairgrounds

Ladies Building

County AnnualMeetings

Matthew (Matt) Bayles of Prentiss has been hired as Regional Manager for the new Region5. He is also the Equine/Swine Commodity Coordinator. His counties are Warren, Yazoo, At-tala, Leake, Madison, Hinds, Rankin, Simpson, Copiah and Claiborne. He will be moving tolive within his region.

Kevin Brown of Wiggins has been hired as Regional Manager for the new Region 8. Heis also the Forestry/Horticultural Crops Commodity Coordinator. His counties are Lamar, For-rest, Perry, Greene, Pearl River, Stone, George, Hancock, Harrison and Jackson.

Britton Hatcher of Grenada has been hired as Regional Manager for the new Region 3. Heis also the Aquaculture and Corn, Wheat & Feed Grains Commodity Coordinator. His coun-ties are Issaquena, Sharkey, Humphreys, Holmes, Carroll, Montgomery, Grenada, Leflore andWashington.

Bayles and Hatcher are graduates of Mississippi State University. Brown is a graduate ofthe University of Southern Mississippi. All of these men have extensive work experience inthe field of agriculture.

Other regional managers and their new regions include:

● Region 1 – Justin Ferguson, Cotton/Rice/Soybeans Coordinator. Justin’s counties areBolivar, Sunflower, Coahoma, Tallahatchie,Quitman, Panola, Tate, Desoto and Tunica.

● Region 2 – Terry Norwood, Apiculture Co-ordinator. Terry’s counties are Marshall,Lafayette, Yalobusha, Calhoun, Pontotoc,Lee, Itawamba, Union, Benton, Tippah, Al-corn, Prentiss and Tishomingo.

● Region 4 – Samantha Webb, Sweet Pota-toes/Peanuts Coordinator. Samantha’s coun-ties are Chickasaw, Monroe, Clay, Webster,

Choctaw, Oktibbeha, Lowndes, Winston,Noxubee, Neshoba and Kemper.

● Region 6 – Jon Kilgore, Beef/Poultry Co-ordinator. John’s counties are Scott, New-ton, Lauderdale, Smith, Jasper, Clarke, Jef-ferson Davis, Covington, Jones and Wayne.

● Region 7 – Doug Ervin, Dairy/Land Pro-gram Coordinator. Doug’s counties are Jef-ferson, Adams, Franklin, Lincoln,Lawrence, Marion, Walthall, Pike, Amiteand Wilkinson.

As this issue of our magazine was going to press in mid-May, theMississippi River had crested at historic levels in Greenville andVicksburg, and the levee system was looking good. Officials withthe Mississippi Levee Board were also optimistic about overtoppingon the Yazoo Backwater (YBW) Levee.

Nevertheless, because of extensive backwater flooding alongtributaries and because some property is located on the unprotectedside of the levee system, thousands of acres of farmland were un-derwater with the possibility of more to come. Thousands of peo-

ple as well as farm animals and wildlife had been displaced. Andy Prosser with the Mississippi Department of Agriculture, es-

timates our state will see about 600,000 acres of cultivated and rowcrop acres underwater as a result of flooding.

“Total acreage of everything, including forestry, cultivated cropland and other crop land, will total in and around 1.4 million acres,”he said

Wayland Hill, hydraulic technician with the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers in Vicksburg, said two counties not along the MississippiRiver had a record flood at the end of April.

“Quitman County had 105,000 acres along the Coldwater River,and Tallahatchie County had 26,500 acres flood along the Talla-hatchie River when 12 to 15 inches of rain fell in 18 hours,” Hillsaid.

In some of the photos, notice the levees built around grain bins,catfish ponds and houses.

The photos on these four pages were taken in and around Yazooand Warren counties by Greg Gibson (aerial shots and others) andDanielle Ginn.

2011Flood

Editor’s Note: On April 25-28, a number of states, including Mis-sissippi, experienced one of the largest outbreaks of tornadoes (ap-proximately 362) in U.S. history. Hundreds of lives were lost and an es-timated $5 billion in damage was recorded. Mississippi also experiencedtornado activity earlier in the month. The Greene County Farm Bureauoffice building in Leakesville was destroyed by a tornado on April 15.Business is being conducted in a nearby trailer. The following articlelooks at timber damage in our state. The photos on these pages reflecttimber and other damage. All of the photos were taken by Danielle Ginn.

Tornadoes that swept through Mississippi and much of the South-east on April 27 caused an estimated $8.4 million in timberlosses.

The Mississippi Forestry Commission compiled the estimate onApril 30, based on aerial surveys conducted after the storms. RussellBozeman, director of forest protection and forest information with thecommission, said the total affected area was about 26,240 acres. Of this,15,564 acres were forested.

“Severe tornado path damage was located in 18 different Mississippicounties,” Bozeman said. “The estimate of value losses does not includeurban areas, sparsely forested areas, or non-forested areas where treesmay still have been damaged.”

Bozeman said this estimate is expected to change as more data is col-lected on the ground.

TornadoTimberDamage

JULY/AUGUST22

By Bonnie CoblentzMSU Ag Communications

Tractors, Monroe County

Timber in Chickasaw County

“These estimates were created by flying the damaged areas and us-ing customized GPS units, called mobile sketchmappers, to map thepaths through forestland,” Bozeman said. “We then use tree inventorydata from the Mississippi Institute for Forest Inventory and imagery fromthe Mis sissippi Automated Resource Information System to get initialvolume estimates. An average dollar per ton is then applied to pulpwoodand saw timber volume of both pine and hardwood.”

Clay, Lafayette, Clarke, Choctaw and Jasper counties saw the mostforest damage. Damages ranged from 2,702 forest acres affected in ClayCounty to 1,115 acres damaged in Jasper County.

“We typically have this kind of information within 48 hours of theevent,” Bozeman said. “Due to the large area affected and the numberof different damage paths, it has taken us a little longer to get our ini-tial estimate.”

According to information released online by the Internal RevenueService, President Obama has declared Chickasaw, Choctaw, Clarke,Greene, Hinds, Jasper, Kemper, Lafayette, Monroe, Neshoba and Web-ster counties federal disaster areas.

Victims of severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and associ-ated flooding beginning April 15 may qualify for IRS tax relief.

“Individuals who reside or have a business in these counties mayqualify for tax relief,” their online statement says. “As a result, the IRSis postponing until June 30 certain deadlines for taxpayers who live orhave a business in the disaster area.”

Damage

23JULY/AUGUST

Webster County Hay Barn


Once, privacy was considered a commoncourtesy, but that has changed. We canonly speculate what the future holds,

but predictions are not rare. Classic 19th cen-tury examples are Jules Verne’s “Around theWorld in 80 Days” and “War of the Worlds” byH.G. Wells, and, in the 20th century, “BuckRogers” and “Dick Tracy” comics, PopularMechanicsmagazine, the television series “StarTrek,” George Orwell’s “1984,” Aldous Hux-ley’s “Brave New World” and Arthur Clarke’s“2001, A Space Odyssey” made famous byStanley Kubrick’s film.

Not so often do we hear about the predictedfuture in legal matters except from those withan ax to grind. However, recent history mayforecast a dim future for the right of privacywhich, though not explicitly guaranteed in theUnited States Constitution, has been the subjectof much legislation and litigation. The rightwas first addressed in a legal context in an1890 Harvard Law Review article by SamuelD. Warren and Louis Brandeis, later a famousU.S. Supreme Court Justice. Today there are allkinds of privacy acts, financial, educational,medical, etc. There have been many decisionsinvolving this, none more famous or contro-versial than the decision in Roe v. Wade1 hold-ing that a woman’s right to an abortion was aprivate decision between her and her doctor.

The nature of the right of privacy was ex-plained in a 1928 dissent by Justice Brandeis.2“The makers of our Constitution understood

the need to secure conditions favorable to thepursuit of happiness, and the protections guar-anteed by this are much broader in scope andinclude the right to life and an inviolate per-sonality — the right to be left alone — the mostcomprehensive of rights and the right most val-ued by civilized men. The principle underlyingthe Fourth and Fifth Amendments is protectionagainst invasions of the sanctities of a man’shome and privacies of life. This is a recognitionof the significance of a man’s spiritual nature,his feelings and his intellect.”

The cases involving the right to be left aloneare legion. Nevertheless, there is a thread run-ning through them which goes back to an 1886U.S. Supreme Court decision3 which in turn re-lies upon a 1765 English case4 holding that thegovernment could do only what the law al-lowed it to do, whereas the individual was freeto do anything not lawfully prohibited.

In 1965, the U.S. Supreme Court expresslyheld that there was a right of privacy and over-turned a Connecticut law prohibiting the sale,distribution or use of contraceptives5 for vio-lating the most intimate private rights. JusticeBrandeis’s assertion that there was such a right75 years earlier was ultimately proven. Are weletting it slip away for the sake of conven-ience?

In spite of all the privacy laws, we may besurrendering our right to be left alone to mod-ern technology. Computers, the Internet, creditcards, social networking, the sharing of mailinglists, etc., are rapidly eating into our privacy.Phone records tell who you talked to, whenand for how long. GPS systems tell you whereyou are or were.

For more than a quarter-century, a numberof automobiles have been capable of recordingsome of your driving activities. Since 1999,event data recorders have become common andcan reveal your speed at a given moment intime as well as other actions you may take be-hind the wheel. Evidence from these deviceshas been accepted by some courts. Now somestates issue photo traffic violations.

A photo showing the entire audience at a re-cent presidential inauguration can be blown upto focus on every person6 so you can no longerbe “a face in the crowd.” In the informationworld, no scandal is so odious that in the wordsof an English author, “We can well suffer thedetails to elude us.”

The term “jurisdiction” in legal parlance isthe power of a court to act in two contexts, sub-ject matter and territorial. Before the 20th cen-tury, courts could gain jurisdiction over a per-son (in personam) or over a thing such asproperty (in rem) only if they or it were foundin the court’s territory. Defendants often ab-sconded to other states.

With advances in transportation and com-munication this began to change and statesadopted “long arm” statutes which purported togive them in personam jurisdiction over non-residents in certain situations. Mississippi’sstatute was enacted in 1940.7 When challengeswere made to such statutes on the ground theydid not provide non-residents with due process,the U.S. Supreme Court in 19458 said, in up-holding a long arm type statute, that they wereconstitutional if the non-resident had “suffi-cient minimum contacts” with the state andthat the statute “will not offend traditional no-tions of fair play and substantial justice.” Asyou can imagine, this has become a fertile fieldfor applying that test.

When states began to pass laws making non-residents subject to personal jurisdiction be-cause of certain acts such as driving on thestate’s highways or “doing business” in thestate, the Mississippi Supreme Court opined in1943 that The Commercial Appeal newspaper,published in Memphis, was not doing businesshere even though it delivered thousands ofnewspapers into the state every day.9

Just this year, in an alienation of affectioncase, the same court held that a man who fre-quently communicated with plaintiff’s wifefrom another state by cell phone and text mes-sages but never was with her in this state couldbe sued here.10 I am confident he never realizedhe was here, but virtually being here was goodenough.

Do you know where you are? Will privacygo the way of sidewalks and screened porches?Not just Big Brother, but many others may bewatching you.

Sam E. Scott is general counsel for Mississippi FarmBureau Federation and practices law in the lawfirm of Samuel E. Scott, PLLC, in Jackson. The fore-going information is general in nature and is not in-tended as nor should be considered specific legal ad-vice, nor to be considered as MFBF’s position oropinion.

1 410 U.S. 113 (1973) 2 Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438 (1928). A

close 5 to 4 decision involving Federal agents wire-tapping bootleggers’ phones in Seattle where wire-tapping itself was a crime under state law.

3 Boyd v. U.S., 116 U.S. 616 (1886)4 Enteck v. Carrington (1765) EWHC KB 5985 Griswold v. Conn. 381 U.S. 479 (1965)6 http://gigapan.org/viewGigapanFullscreen.php?auth=033ef14483ee899496648c2b4b06233c

7 Gen. Laws Miss. 1940 ch. 2468 International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S.

310 (1945)9 Lee v. Memphis Publishing Co., 195 Miss. 264, 14

So.2d 351 (1943)10 Knight v. Woodfield, 2009-IA-01371-SCT (Miss.

2011)

The Declineof Privacy

COUNSEL’S CORNER

By Sam E. Scott, MFBF General Counsel

MISSISSIPPI FARM COUNTRYJULY/AUGUST

July 1Application Deadline

Farm Bureau Ambassador Contest

July 7Cotton Summer Meeting

Grenada County Extension Auditorium

Grenada

July 12Sweet Potatoes Summer Meeting

Calhoun CountyExtension Office

Pittsboro

July 14 Corn, Wheat & Feed Grains

Soybeans, Peanuts, Apiculture (a.m.)

Beef, Swine, Poultry (p.m.)Summer MeetingMFBF Building

Jackson

July 15Forestry Summer Meeting

MFBF BuildingJackson

July 22Rice Growers Summer Meeting

Bolivar CountyExtension Auditorium

Cleveland

August 1Mississippi Homeplace

Producers’ SaleSoutheast Livestock, AAL

Hattiesburg

Calender of Events

Member Benefits:Adding Value to

Your Membership

Your membership in Farm Bureau costs you a few dollars each year, but that membershipfee allows you to participate in many Member Benefits programs that can save you hundreds,perhaps thousands, of dollars.

Farm Bureau has signed agreements with many partner companies to provide products andservices to Farm Bureau members at a discount. All of these services are available to you asa member, and all you have to do is provide your membership number or the special Farm Bu-reau code that is associated with that particular program. Here are just a few.

For more information on these and all of the other Member Benefits programs, visit ourWeb site at www.msfb.org and click on the Member Benefits link. Or you can call Farm Bu-reau’s Member Benefits Coordinator Dedra Luke at (601) 977-4169.

By Greg Gibson, DirectorMFBF Member Services Department

One of our most popular programs is the 20 percent discount offered byChoice Hotels. By reserving rooms on the Choice Hotel Web site and usingFarm Bureau’s savings code, you can save 20 percent on every night you stayin a Choice Hotel, which includes Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality Inn,Sleep Inn, Clarion, Mainstay Suites, Suburban, Econo Lodge, and Rodeway Inn.H

OTELS

If you live in rural parts of the state, you might have trouble getting highspeed Internet. HughesNet is the answer to your problem. Farm Bureau mem-bers can get a 10 percent discount on the service package that meets your needs.This satellite Internet system will allow you to surf the Web, download videos,and do many other things that are slow and cumbersome on a dial-up system.

HIGH SPEED

INTERNET

One of the most lifesaving benefits that Farm Bureau offers is a Medical AlertSystem for your home. Most seniors and persons with medical conditions orphysical challenges would prefer to live in their own homes and be as inde-pendent as possible. That’s not always possible, but this dream can become areality with the addition of this easy-to-use communications device.

The PERS-3600 connects to a phone line and automatically places a call forhelp whenever assistance is needed. The console’s emergency alarm can be trig-gered by the help button on top of the console or by using the wireless wrist-band or pendant.

MEDICAL

ALERT SYSTEM

Farm Bureau has signed a new agreement with Clear Value Hearingto offer Farm Bureau members significant discounts on hearing aids.Members can receive a free hearing test, free annual retests, free pro-gramming and maintenance, free case of batteries, and 25 percent offStarkey digital hearing instruments.

AFFORDABLE

HEARING AIDS

JULY/AUGUST26

Our mystery town is known in blues circles as the location where “theSouthern crosses the Yellow Dog.” The Southern was once a lineof the Southern Railway, and the Yellow Dog, officially the Yazoo

and Delta Railroad, was part of the Illinois Central Railroad system. Es-tablished in 1897, this link was the central Delta’s major rail link for manydecades, making this town one of the region’s most active passenger andfreight connections.

This crossing is referenced in many blues songs, including a 1914recording by W.C. Handy called, “The Yellow Dog Rag.” As the story goes,Handy heard another man singing about “going where the Southern crossesthe Dog” while he was waiting in a train depot in Tutwiler. Blues expertssay that the harmonies Handy heard that day are the first documented useof blues harmonies.

Our mystery town is the hometown of the late country songwriter,singer and comedian Johnny Russell. Russell is best known for “Act Nat-urally,” a song recorded by Buck Owens. Other artists who have recordedRussell’s music include Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, andJerry Garcia, to name a few.

This Mid-Delta town grew up in the late 1800s around sawmills, the rail-road, and efforts by businessman/idealist Chester Pond and his wife Almeda

Mystery?Solvethe

Gardner Pond to establish a new type of com-munity where local sharecroppers and tenantfarmers would have an opportunity to acquireland and homes and improve their circum-stances. The Ponds established a school foryoung African-American women here.

Our mystery town was incorporated in De-cember 1899, and it quickly grew. After onlytwo years, it boasted a post office, two hotels,a church, two public schools, an industrial col-lege, railway and express offices, the Missis-sippi Cooperate Company (one of Pond’s busi-nesses), a large sawmill, a lumber plant, planingand shingle mills, three patent dry kilns, ablacksmith shop, and many houses.

The name of our mysterytown was taken from the bayouupon which the town was built.The name of the bayou cameeither from Pond’s memoriesof the Scotland moors or froma timber inspector, a Mr.Moorehead, from North Car-olina.

Today, approximately2,500 people call this townhome, and industries are ba-sically ag-related. Farmers primarilygrow row crops, and the Fish Belt Grain Mill islocated here.

Citizens of our mystery town plan to re-store the old depot and turn it into a train mu-seum. The facility might also give a nod toblues music and to Russell’s country music.

This town has an active garden club, a Yel-low Dog Festival held every April, and aChristmas Eve with Santa event held each De-cember. It boasts two public schools and lots ofchurches. It is the home of Mississippi DeltaCommunity College.

Mayor George Holland, pictured with hisvintage tractor, would like to see some of thehistoric buildings in the downtown area reno-vated, and citizens are already working onplans for this. The mayor would also like tohave a walking trail built in the downtownpark.

Mayor Holland says he sees a bright futurefor the town, with citizens working together to-ward the common goal of having “a safe, cleanplace where young families can raise their kidsand where retirees can feel at home.”

Name this town.A special thanks to Sunflower County

Women’s Chair Helen Allison, pictured withher roses, and to Mayor George Holland fortheir help with this article. Thanks also to“fevers, floods and faith, a history of SunflowerCounty, Mississippi, 1844-1976,” by Marie M.Hemphill.

Correct GuessesMail guesses to Solve the Mystery, Mis-

sissippi Farm Country, P.O. Box 1972, Jack-son, MS 39215. You may also e-mail yourguesses to: [email protected].

Please remember to include your nameand address on the entry.

Visit our Mississippi Farm Bureau Fed-eration Web site at: www.msfb.org.

When all correct guesses have beenreceived, we will randomly draw 20names. These 20 names will receive aprize and will be placed in the hat twice.

At the end of the year, a winner will bedrawn from all correct submissions. Thewinner will receive a Weekend Bed andBreakfast Trip, courtesy of the MississippiFarm Bureau Federation.

Families may submit only one entry.Federation staff members and their fami-lies are ineligible to participate in this con-test.

The deadline for submitting your entryis July 31.

May/JuneThe correct answer for the May/June

Solve the Mystery is McComb.

2727JULY/AUGUST

A Great HobbyWoodworking:

JULY/AUGUST28

Working with wood — crafting furniture, birdhouses andother items — is a relaxing hobby for Doris Keifer ofRankin County. It is her therapy.

“I’m retired now, and I could do this 24 hours a day,” she said.“It takes me away from my problems.”

Doris’ studio is pretty therapeutic itself. Her woodworkingequipment — the table saw, miter, planer and sander — is housedin a building that opens onto a lake. Sunlight through tall pines dap-ples the water, and you don’t see how in the world she can take hereyes off that long enough to make anything.

But she can. Oh, occasionally, she’ll pick up a fishing pole and try her hand

at catching bream. Or she’ll pause long enough to examine an eelor softshell turtle a neighborhood youth has brought by to show her.

But most of the time, she is hard at work.On the day of my visit, Doris, 82, had just finished a pie safe for

a friend. It sat in the shadows of her workshop. In another corner,in a great big tumble, sat one hundred bluebird houses she planned

By Glynda Phillips


to sell at the Canton Flea Market in May. She also shows at that city’sOctober flea market. Her booth sits right next to the funnel cakebooth.

Doris has been working with wood for about 25 years.“I started out making picture frames and didn’t like that, so I tried

my hand at other things,” she said. “My late husband Don and I usedto travel a lot, and I’d buy something and bring it home and study itto see how it was made. That’s how I learned. Then I’d add my own per-sonal touch to make it uniquely mine.

Doris began selling her crafts at shows in small towns acrossSouth Mississippi.

“I have sold my work all the way down to the Louisiana line,”she said with a grin. “I’ve saturated South Mississippi with mybirdhouses.”

Doris, with her outgoing and fun-loving personality, quite nat-urally loved those shows. But with rising gas prices, she decided to letthem go and concentrate on Canton. Today, as she prepares for thatmarket, her finished birdhouses sit beneath a bright blue tent set up onthe shaded lawn behind her house.

Doris sells birdhouses made to look like tiny churches, old-timeydogtrot-style houses and old-timey outhouses. She sells bluebird and wrenhouses. She sells “Mississippi” birdhouses and houses that use motor-cycle tags as roofs. (She gets the tags from a friend who owns an auto re-pair shop.) Her inventory includes “condos,” consisting of multiple bird-houses attached together on a long pole.

Her “Mississippi” birdhouses feature the state of Mississippi carvedon the front of them, with Mississippi scenes hand-painted by close friendBobby Rowland, who once worked with artist Gail Pittman.

“Churches are my most popular birdhouse,” she said. “That’s followedby the bluebird houses.”

Doris says some folks actually let birds live in their birdhouses butmost use them as decoration. She sells thousands of birdhouses everyyear. She also sells quite a few pie safes and, at Christmas, lots ofwooden crosses made from ten-foot fence boards with Christmas bulbsattached. People use these as decoration, also.

Doris’ son owns a fence business and gives her his culls and some-

times his sur-plus new wood.She works withcypress and cedar.

When she’s not busy makingthings, she is motoring around theneighborhood on a bright red scooter,visiting neighbors and friends. Shemakes a point of helping them out whenthey are sick.

Doris is a member of Cleary Baptist Church. She is a longtimemember of Rankin County Farm Bureau.

You can find Doris’ birdhouses at Lakeland and Callaway’syard and garden centers and at Revell Hardware stores in Byrum,Florence and Pearl.

For more information, email Doris at [email protected],or call her at (601) 209-2251.


jáëëáëëáééáMonday

^By Glynda Phillips


Anyone who has ever called Mississippi homesurely possesses fond memories of the sights,sounds and scents that are uniquely ours. Anna

Gant’s children’s book, entitled “Mississippi Monday,”casts a knowing and poetic look at a typical MississippiMonday during each season of the year. For example, inthe summer:

‘When the last warm rays of the setting sun glimmer on the horizon,there will be homemade ice cream out on the front porch and fireflies to chase.’

“I’ve had a very good response to this book,” Anna said.“Adults say that it reminds them of home and what it waslike growing up in Mississippi. They say that I captured itpretty well. My dad says it makes him hungry because ittalks about all of our delicious Southern foods.”

Anna’s book has been nominated for the MississippiAuthors Award, sponsored by the Mississippi Library As-sociation. The Mississippi Authors Award seeks to recognizeand encourage Mississippi authors and to promote interest in lo-cal authors’ books, whether the books are about Mississippi or an-other subject. Books are honored in fiction, nonfiction and spe-cial categories.

The recognition is great but, to Anna, the book was simply alabor of love.

Five generations of her mother’s family, the Gillespies, haveowned the same tract of farmland in Calhoun County near Var-daman. Her papaw farms the land today in cows and a bountifulvegetable garden.

Getting Started“The spring that I was 17, my great-aunt suffered a stroke at

the age of 62,” Anna said. “My mother and I stayed pretty closeto home while she recovered.”

Drawing has always been joyful to Anna, but it took on a newsignificance at that time. As an experiment, she used computerprograms like Microsoft Paint, Gimp and Smooth Draw.

“I had always wanted to try that type of artwork,” she said. “Itis the same as painting on a canvas, only you use your mouse.”

One day, Anna’s mom looked over her shoulder and said,“Looks like you have something special there with your art-work. Would you like to take an old manuscript of mine and putthose illustrations to it?”

Anna jumped at the chance. She worked hard on the projectand, pretty soon, the material began to look like a book.

“I draw and sell greeting cards, so I have my own publishingcompany called Lucy Jane Publishing. I knew that the next stepwas to look for a printer who would agree to print the book formy company,” Anna said.

Walsworth Print Group in Missouri fit the bill.

Publishing a Book“Walsworth worked with us from start to finish, and they

were so nice,” Anna said. “They never made me feel like a 17-year-old.”

The book didn’t start out as a children’s story, but as Annaworked with a family friend, who is a children’s book editor, to

adapt her mother’s material to that type of format, she shortenedsentences, took out parts and…voila! The result was a charmingpicture book. Anna deliberately left blank pages in the back of thebook so that kids can draw or color on them, because that’s whatshe would do when she was a child.

Anna printed 250 books, and she’s sold more than half of them.“I hope for kids that this book will build their imaginations and

vocabularies,” she said. “I hope that it will teach them to appre-ciate where they live and where they come from. I hope that theysee that a 17-year-old kid did this, and that they can use their God-given talents in wonderful ways, too.”

Anna credits her family with helping her with the project. Anaunt and an uncle are English teachers. Her mother wrote andpublished a children’s book some ten years ago. Her mother Leaand father Neil, who pastors Pleasant Grove First Baptist Churchin Gore Springs, have been very supportive of Anna’s efforts.

“The process of putting together, publishing and selling thebook has been a great learning experience for our daughter,” Leasaid. “It’s an experience she can carry into all of her future en-deavors.”

Anna is hard at work on a Christmas book tentatively entitled“The Calling Bell.”

“The illustrations are coming faster with this book, and Ishould be finished by the end of summer,” she said. “I think it willbe pretty neat. It is based on a bell owned by a family in HickoryFlat. The story has a nice little twist that reminds us that the Lordcan turn our attention to Him in many ways…even through theringing of an old bell.”

jáëëáëëáééá

For more information, visit www.LucyJanePublishing.com.

Also, look up Lea Gant’s children’s picture book, “Never Say Goodbye,” on the Internet. It talks about

saying goodbye and the nature of grief. Anna attends Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia.


Jack Alexander was honored upon his retirement with a resolution from the Mis-sissippi Legislature citing his many contributions to Farm Bureau, agricultureand the state of Mississippi. He is pictured with Public Policy Director Saman-tha Cawthorn.

Everyone attending the 2011 Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation Women’sLeadership Conference participated in hands-on learning activities.

Jack Alexander was honored with a reception upon his retirement after 36years of service to the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation. Most recent-ly, Jack served as Regional Manager for Region 3 and as Commodity Co-ordinator for Poultry. He is pictured with his wife Ann.

Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation always has a popular commoditydisplay at the Magnolia Beef and Poultry Expo in Raleigh. This annualevent offers educational seminars and a trade show featuring agriculturalequipment and other valuable information for beef and poultry producers.

Financial Advisor Allison Grant addressed a lunch-eon held during the 2011 Mississippi Farm BureauFederation Women’s Leadership Conference.She stressed the importance of keeping up with allrecords related to the home and farm.

Fifteen Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation leaders attended the National Women’s LeadershipConference in Baltimore, Maryland. Over 500 people from around the nation participated in the event.

Farm Bureau Events


As a fun learning activity during the 2011 Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation Secretaries’Conference, the participants visited the Children’s Barnyard at the Mississippi Agriculture andForestry Museum in Jackson.

Especially popular at the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation booth duringSuper Bulldog Weekend were the children’s activities. State Women’sCommittee Chair Betty Mills teaches children how to churn butter from cream.

The state winner of the col-oring contest is Sadie Hick-man of Forrest County. Sadieattends Petal Primary School.She is pictured with ShelbyWilliams, vice chair, StateWomen’s Committee, MelleenMoore, chair, Forrest CountyWomen’s Committee, andCarolyn Turner, chair, Region7 Women’s Committee. Alsopictured are the school prin-cipal, Dede Smith; Sadie’smother, Beth; and her teacher,Tessa Trimm.

Secretaries attending the 2011 Mississippi Farm BureauFederation Secretaries’ Conference learned aboutagriculture through hands-on activities like “churning” theirown butter from cream. The participants used an Ag in theClassroom activity designed for that purpose. They laterate the butter on crackers.

The Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation booth at Super Bulldog Weekendon the campus of Mississippi State University received lots of attention thisyear. Visitors enjoyed food and fun activities while learning all about agriculture.

Farm Bureau Events

mississippi farm country july/august 2011

Documents

farm bureau logos

farm bureau ambassador

telling farm bureaus

mfbf publication

mississippi farmers

business managementdecisions

magazine ispublished

new albanybill ryan