The Mississippi River is about 2300 miles long and the history of native agriculture in it valley goes back more than 4000 years.
The Mississippi Basin is the third largest drainage basin in the world and is home to one of the of productive agricultural regions on earth. It covered over 41 percent of the continental United States.
It covers a wide range of climatic and topographic regimens across the United States, ranging from mesic temperature forest in the east to dry shrublands and irrigated agriculture in the west.
Agriculture is the predominate land use across the Mississippi River Basin. The farming of row crops, such as corn and soybeans in the basin has increased overtime.
Rain-fed corn and soybean cropping systems, grasslands, pastures and forests dominate the eastern half of the basin.
Rain-fed wheat, irrigated corn and soybean, cropping system, grassland and shrublands dominate portion do the basin.
By the end of the twentieth century, the approximately average lad use for the entire Mississippi River drainage basin was 33% cropland, 24% grazing land, and 32% forest and woodlands.
The value of the agricultural products and the huge agribusiness industry that has developed in the basin produces 92% of the nation’s agricultural exports, 78% of the world’s exports in feed grains and soybeans and most of the livestock and hogs produced nationally.
Agriculture at Mississippi Basin
