Michael Katrutsa’s produce shop in rural Camden, Tennessee, offers a vibrant array of fresh produce, including tomatoes, watermelon, and sweet corn, all grown on his roughly 20-acre farm. While Tennessee’s farmland is dominated by row crops like hay, soybeans, and corn, Katrutsa focuses on specialty crops that require more labor but offer higher sale value. The World Wildlife Fund sees potential for the Mississippi Delta to become a new hub for commercial-scale produce farming as California’s resources face challenges from climate change.
Sixth-generation Arkansas farmer Hallie Shoffner is leading the way in exploring specialty crop production in the Delta region, focusing on growing specialty rice like basmati and jasmine rice. Shoffner’s project, Delta Harvest Food Hub, aims to make agriculture more equitable by working with Black and women farmers to pilot the scalability of growing specialty crops in the region.
While shifting to specialty crops presents challenges such as finding new markets and specialized equipment, efforts by organizations like the WWF and AgLaunch aim to connect farmers with buyers and distribute risk across the supply chain. By embracing specialty crops, farmers in the Mid-Delta region could potentially generate billions in added revenue and thousands of jobs. The concept of farming cooperatives and smart contracts is being explored to help smaller farmers navigate the specialty crop market dominated by large, vertically integrated companies.
Overall, the push towards specialty crop production in the Mid-Delta region represents a new opportunity for farmers to diversify their crops, increase revenue, and contribute to a more sustainable and inclusive agricultural economy.
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Photo credit tennesseelookout.com
