Water struggles and wildfire threats looming over California have driven the World Wildlife Fund to consider the possibility of a new home for U.S. vegetable production.
The Mississippi River Delta region could prove to be ripe with opportunity. Currently, only 0.2% of the region’s farmland grows specialty crops, but their high sale value means they generate more than 1% of the area’s ag revenue.
Getting farmers in the area to shift production is the real challenge.
Costs, weather risks, and disease pose real risks that can easily decimate an entire crop. The World Wildlife Fund says that they are not trying to recruit farmers to start growing specialty crops, they just want mid-Delta growers to have the information needed to make informed decisions.
