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See also: Mississippi Food Festivals
MISSISSIPPI Facts and Trivia
A few of Mississippi's nicknames: The Mud-cat State, The Magnolia State, and The Bayou State.
FARMS & FARMERS
Mississippi: approximate land area 30,012,193 acres
Farmland is 11,456,241 acres or 38.2% of total land
Organic agriculture accounts for about 1,433 acres
Number of Farms: 41,959
Principle Farm Operators:
Men: 35,829 Women: 6,130
(2013 - USDA Economic Research Service: www.ers.usda.gov )
[2007-2008 latest available data]
POPULATION & HUNGER
Mississippi has a total population of 2,978,512
Urban population: 1,347,309
Rural population: 1,631,203
Food insecure households*: 19.2%
Households with very low food security*: 7.1%
*Food insecurity - Limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways.
Very low food security - At times during the year, eating patterns of one or more household members were disrupted and food intake reduced because the household lacked money and other resources for food.
(2013 - USDA Economic Research Service: www.ers.usda.gov )
(Population & Food Security data: 2011)
Mississippi is the 4th largest rice producing state, growing about 6.9% of the U.S. rice crop on close to 200,000 acres (almost all long grain rice). (2008). Commercial rice production didn't began in Mississippi until after World War II.
The world's largest pecan nursery is in Lumberton, Mississippi.
Belzoni, Mississippi is the ‘Catfish Capital of the World’.
Vardaman, Mississippi is called the ‘Sweet Potato Capital of the World’.
Mississippi produced more than 300 million pounds of sweet potatoes in 2007.
US Census Bureau, October, 2008
Borden's Condensed Milk was first canned in Liberty, Mississippi.
The first football player on a Wheaties box was Walter Payton of Columbia, Mississippi.
In 2005 the American Alligator (Alligator Mississippiensis) was designated as the Official Reptile of Mississippi.
In 1997 the Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) was designated as an Official Land Mammal.
In 1984 Milk was designated as the Official Beverage.
In 1980 the Honeybee (Apis mellifera) was designated as the Official Insect.
In 1974:
• the Largemouth or Black Bass (Micropterus salmoides) was designated as the Official Fish;
• the Oyster Shell (Crassostrea virginica) was designated as the Official Shell;
• the White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) was designated as an Official Land Mammal;
• the Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) was designated as the Official Waterfowl of Mississippi.
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