FIELD OF DREAMS: AGRICULTURE CONTINUES AS BIG BUSINESS THROUGHOUT SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

The area's agricultural output also has a significant impact on the state's economy.

"Agriculture is big business in Cape Girardeau County and all of Southeast Missouri," said Terry Birk, of the Cape Girardeau County Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Service office at Jackson. "And, 1994 was a good year crop-wise."

Cape County livestock people took a hit on prices, added Birk. Revenue totals for 1994 weren't immediately available, but "livestock prices were down some," he said.

Over the past three years, more than 100,000 farms in Missouri have produced more than $4 billion in farm products, which include soybeans, corn, hay, cotton, grapes, apples, fruits and even tobacco.

Sales of agriculture products in the Southeast Missouri area have increased during the past decade, to more than $570 million annually, up 14 percent from a decade ago.

In 1959, $9.5 million in farm products -- $2.4 million in crops and $7.1 million in livestock and their products -- were sold by Cape County farmers. That figure now tops the $50 million mark with more than half of that in livestock and their products.

In 1992, Cape County farmers realized sales of more than $28 million in crops and more than $25 million in livestock.

Corn and soybeans were the big cash crops in Cape Girardeau County, at $9.9 and $8.5 million respectively.

New Madrid County is the usual leader of area counties in crop production with more than $100 million annually.

During a recent crop year, 1992, New Madrid headed the Missouri Top 10 list in cash crop receipts, at $109 million. The county's top cash products in 1992 were corn, $33 million, and soybeans, $25 million.

Also among the 1992 top cash crop counties were Stoddard and Mississippi, with $92 and 74 millions in crop sales respectively.

Dunklin and Pemiscot counties, which depend heavily on cotton production, also finished among the top 10 of cash crops, with $72 million and $68 million respectively.

No Southeast Missouri county was listed in the state's Top 10 livestock producers, but Cape Girardeau, Perry and Bollinger are among the area's top producers.

Although the Missouri cattle inventory is down statewide, Cape County had an increase in all cattle, from 43,000 in 1993 to 48,500 in 1994. Perry County listed more than 42,000 head and Bollinger County showed 30,000. In all three counties, more than half the cattle were beef cattle.

Perry County reported more than $26 million in livestock receipts. Bollinger showed livestock receipts of more than $19 million.

Farms in Southeast Missouri have followed the state and national trend in size and number.

Mechanization is allowing farmers to handle more land with the same labor, Birk said. The trend has been to fewer and larger farms.

The Missouri Agricultural Statistics Services reported 106,000 farms in Missouri in 1993. The latest farm census figures show 2 million farms in the United States and the U.S. Department of Agriculture says if current trends continue that number could dwindle to 1.7 million farms by the year 2000.

A report issued in 1992 by Southwest Missouri State University's Center for Social Research, reveals that the number of farms have dwindled in a 22-county area of Southeast Missouri by nearly 9 percent over the past decade, from 15,127 to 13,817. At the same time, the average size of individual farms has increased by 30 acres.

The total Southeast Missouri farm acreage has increased over the past decade, but only slightly -- from 4.41 million to 4.44 million acres.

The 1992 report shows 1,365 farms in Cape Girardeau County, comprising 266,557 acres, for an average size of 195 acres a farm.

This is about half the farms that were in the county in 1900, when a 2,576 farmers had about 348,000 acres in agriculture use, for an average of 136 acres.

Bootheel farms boast some of the larger farms in Missouri. With only 340 farms listed, the Mississippi County average is 762 acres; New Madrid County farms average 695 acres; Pemiscot County farms average 653 acres; and Dunklin County farms average 445 acres.

The total land in Missouri farms is estimated at 28.5 million acres, down slightly from 29.2 million acres five years ago.

Agriculture glance

Average crop acreages

(Missouri Ag Statistics Service)

Cape Girardeau: 35,000 acres corn; 45,000 soybeans; 22,000 wheat; 7,100 sorghum; and 45,000 hay.

Mississippi: 55,000 corn; 150,000 soybeans; 52,000; 20,000 wheat; 4,800 cotton; and 2,200 hay.

Perry: 22,000 corn; 25,000 soybeans; 25,000 wheat; 2.900 sorghum; and 27,000 hay.

Scott: 40,000 corn; 100,000 soybeans; 55,000 wheat 17,200 sorghum; 6,600 hay; 8,500 cotton.

Stoddard: 85,000 corn; 150,000 soybeans; 81,000 wheat; 43,000 sorghum; 8,600 wheat; 21,800 cotton.

Dunklin: 134,900 cotton; 90,000 soybeans; 10,000 corn; 25,000 wheat.

New Madrid: 89,000 cotton; 160,000 soybeans; 60,000 corn; 40,000 wheat.

Pemiscot: 75,000 cotton; 150,000 soybeans; 15,000 corn; 70,000 wheat.

All Missouri cotton is raised in seven Southeast Missouri counties: Dunklin, 134,000 acres; New Madrid, 89,000 acres; Pemiscot, 75,000 acres; Stoddard, 21,800 acres; Scott, 8,500 acres; Mississippi, 4,800 acres; and Butler, 1,000 acres.

Butler and Stoddard counties are big Southeast Missouri rice counties. Butler raises from 50,000 to 58,000 acres annually, and Stoddard ranges from 30,000 to 37,000 acres.

Cape Girardeau, Perry and Bollinger are big livestock counties: Cape Girardeau, 48,500 cattle and 23,000 swine; Perry, 42,700 cattle and 35,000 swine; and Bollinger, 30,900 cattle and 18,000 swine.