Most Mississippians make a point to stay inside during June, especially when temperatures reach 100 degrees or more. Even with high temperatures, Mississippi farmers and ranchers do not stop working, which is why the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation hosted a farm tour for the Mississippi Senate Agriculture Committee this summer.

The 100-year-old organization took the opportunity to share a wide range of agricultural operations in south Mississippi with the group of elected officials, including Great Southern Farms.

At Great Southern Farms in Richton, blueberries are the cash crop. While on the tour, legislators learned the process of picking to packaging this sought-after fruit from multiple members of the Edwards family, who have been running their operation for more than 30 years.

“I hope they see the everyday grin that’s involved in this business and hear the issues we have, especially with labor,” said Jeremy Edwards, co-owner of Great Southern Farms. “There are numerous things they could do to help this industry. There is definitely room for expansion in Mississippi blueberries.”

“If you own it, if it’s yours, you want to work a little bit harder to make it a success,” Malcolm Edwards, Jeremy’s father, added. “That’s why it’s so important to me for them to see this. It’s special.”

Near Collins, the Rogers family has been raising cattle for 96 years. At this stop of the tour, Doug Rogers gave lawmakers a crash course on the cattle business and why Collins is the perfect place to raise cattle.

“We’re exactly 12 hours from central Florida and 12 hours from the Texas Panhandle,” he said. “We’re a natural stopping point for cattle, because you can only haul them for about 12 hours until they need to rest. Another nice thing about south-central Mississippi we have mild winters, so we’re able to grow grass about 11 months out of the year. That is our key economic advantage over other places.”

To Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation President Mike McCormick, these farm visits lay the foundation for successful efforts in advocating for farmers and ranchers at the Mississippi Capitol.

“When legislators get to meet farmers in the field and have this type of interaction with them, it makes a bigger impact,” McCormick said. “As the voice of agriculture at the Capitol, it’s important for Farm Bureau to make those connections and let our policy makers talk to the farmers and people their legislation is impacting. That’s why these farm tours are so important to everyone involved.”

At Eubanks Farms in Lucedale, the Eubanks family grows and sells a wide range of fruits and vegetables, like lima beans and watermelons.

Lawmakers had the opportunity to walk through the Eubanks packaging and shipping facility during the tour to get an idea of what happens each day and how their produce goes from field to fork.

“We have a lot of facilities here to grow and ship our produce from,” Allen Eubanks said. “Our operation has steadily grown over the years. My wife came to work for the company in the early 2000s. We’ve raised four kids here, and most of them are back in it. It’s just our way of life. It’s challenging, but we love what we do.”

“I’ve never been on a tour where they’re growing produce like they do at Eubanks,” said Chuck Younger, Mississippi Senate Agriculture Committee chair. “If everybody would take a tour like this to understand how much aggravation the growers go through to get all this produce to market, they would appreciate buying the full grocery store shelves, that’s for sure.”

For Rod Hickman, the Mississippi senator representing Kemper, Lauderdale, Noxubee and counties, having an open dialog with farmers and Farm Bureau is exciting, especially since he was raised in a farming family.

“I want to know what our farmers do,” Hickman said. “Agriculture is a huge part of our state, and I think it’s important for us to understand and know what goes into making it so successful. I came on this tour because I wanted to see firsthand what our farmers are doing and what they need help with from a policy perspective.”

Farm tours are a key component to continuing MFBF’s mission of improving the lives of Mississippi farmers, ranchers and Farm Bureau members.

“When we have an issue, one of the first calls we make is to Farm Bureau. They’ve helped us out a lot, especially on labor issues and different regulations. They play a big role in helping us solve problems. Farm Bureau is a great organization that truly represents the family farm and farmer.”