CHANGING CROPPING PATTERNS IN THE MIDSOUTH L. Arnold Siniard Cropping patterns in the middle part of the southern United States, the Midsouth, have been changing rapidly. Cotton no longer is “king” in most states; indeed, it never was “king” in terms of areal land use except in limited areas of certain states. In most parts of the Midsouth com has been foremost in cropland acreage. But in many areas corn has now lost this primate position to the soybean, a relative newcomer to the southern scene. Recently, wheat acreage also has been increasing rapidly in association with the soybean in a double-cropping system. This paper shows how the changing importance of com, soybeans and wheat has led to the emergence of new cropping patterns, and why these patterns differ from place to place. The study area includes four entire states —Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi—and parts of Florida, Ken tucky, Missouri, and Tennessee (Figure 1). This area includes the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, (1) the largest and most productive area of cotton culture in the Midsouth today and, also, its dominant soybean region. In addition, the study area includes those areas on either side of the Alluvial Valley into which soybean culture appears to be spreading most rapidly. THE DECLINE OF CORN. The South generally cannot compete with the Com Belt of the Midwest in growing com for the cash market. The South has long been a corn deficit area, and large quantities of midwestem com move to southern markets each year. Although production per acre in the Midsouth has been increasing, it remains much lower than in the Com Belt. In 1967, for example, average production in Illinois reached 100 bushels per acre while average production in the Midsouth ranged from 40 bushels in Louisiana to 58 bushels in Tennessee. (2) Figure 2 indicates that in the area where soils are most fertile and farms and fields largest, the Alluvial Valley, com is less important than in the less fertile uplands to the east. Figure 3 indicates, moreover, that corn acreage has declined more in the Alluvial Valley than in these upland areas. But com has declined in importance almost everywhere in the Midsouth since 1959, both in acreage and in production (Table 1). Several factors appear to be significant in this decline. First, there are those conditions which make Midsouth com generally costly to produce and, therefore, less able to compete in cash markets: low soil fertility, small Mr. Siniard is instructor in geography at Memphis State University, Memphis. The paper was accepted for publication in September 1969. 60 S o u t h e a s t e r n G e o g r a p h e r THE MIDSOUTH ALLUVIAL VALLEY AREAS THE BLACK BELT THE NASHVILLE BASIN FIG. I SOURCES: BASE MAP: U. S. BUREAU OF THE CENSUS, MAP SERIES GE-50, 1965 AREAS: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE UNITED STATES, I9 6 0 Vol. X, No. 2 61 farm size, and high transport costs to markets. Second, there is competition for use of the land from other crops such as cotton and soybeans, and in certain areas rice and sugar cane. These crops grow best in the same areas where physiographic and fertility conditions are best for com. In 1966 in Bolivar County, Mississippi, for example, at the then current market prices, com brought a lower gross income per acre than cotton, rice, soybeans, or wheat. (3) Since cotton and rice (and wheat, if grown under the wheat price support program) are subject to acreage controls and sugar cane occupies a limited acreage, the real competition for the land is between com and soybeans. A third factor in the decline of com acreage in the Midsouth is insect and disease problems. The Southwestern Com Borer in recent years has spread from Texas and Mexico across the southern and western parts of the Mid south causing serious losses. The only effective control at present is early planting. Com planted before May first escapes significant damage, but such early planting is not always possible in the lower, wetter alluvial soils. The Com Stunting Disease, caused by a virus, also has spread...