Mississippi ranks first in world production of catfish and third among states in cotton. It leads in the manufacturing of upholstered furniture.
Between 1950 and 1980 soaring demand for soybeans prompted reclamation of more than four-fifths of the almost five million acres of wetlands. Federal laws have now made it less profitable to convert waterfowl habitat to cropland, but agriculture is still the state's leading industry. A heritage corridor along the Mississippi River includes antebellum houses and Civil War battlefields.
ECONOMYIndustry: petroleum products, health services, electronic equipment, transportation, banking, forest products, communications.
Agriculture: poultry, eggs, cotton, catfish, soybeans, cattle, rice, dairy products.Text source:
National Geographic Atlas of the World, Eighth Edition, 2004
