Worlds collide: how the Mississippi Delta could transform U.S. agriculture
By
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HoneyRose Smith
© WWF-US/Ashleigh Coleman
Down in the Mississippi Delta, the summers are hot and humid. The air is thick and muggy, and the soil is rich and fertile. Stretching from the Northwest corner of Missouri to the tip of the boot of Louisiana, the Delta has a climate that makes it ideal for agriculture. Farmers here grow common row crops such as rice and corn. These cash crops are sold to processors, and used in the production of both animal feed and human foods, eventually making their way into our homes and refrigerators.
Most farmers have been working in this region for generations, their land passed down the family lineage. From a young age, their children and grandchildren learn how to work the farm alongside dedicated groups of migrant workers. Each person returns for the yearly harvest, hoping that the seeds will be fruitful.
Despite most of the Delta’s land mass being used for agriculture, the region remains overshadowed by the produce giant that is the state of California. That West coast state has thrived agriculturally for years, producing a majority of the fruit and vegetable crops in the U.S. However, its resources are becoming exhausted due to threats including drought and climate change.
© HoneyRose Smith
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) designed The Next California proposal to directly combat this problem by diversifying the crops grown within the Mississippi Delta region. The project’s goal is to “ find ‘the next California,’ a place to build a sustainable and equitable commercial-level specialty crop industry,” according to Julia Kurnik, who leads the project for WWF.
In essence, WWF’s hope is that the Delta’s rich soil can ease the burden on California's agricultural industry by producing more specialty crops. These crops include fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops.
In essence, WWF’s hope is that the Delta’s rich soil can ease the burden on California's agricultural industry by producing more specialty crops. These crops include fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops``.
As a recipient of WWF’s environmental journalist scholarship, I recently had the opportunity to join Kurnik and several others on a reporting trip for Next California. This opportunity was unique because I was directly immersed in the practice of agricultural reporting and research. I shadowed several writers, reporters, and communicators in June 2025 to learn what happens behind the scenes.
© WWF-US/Ashleigh Coleman
From day one, it was boots on the ground as we visited Peebles Organics in Augusta, Ark. Shawn Peebles spends the majority of the day in the grueling heat overseeing the farm’s operations with his wife, Kelly. Traditionally, Peebles Organics grew rice and corn row crops, but 17 years ago shifted to organic farming and specialty crops including squash, melons, and sweet potatoes.
Peebles Organics is a stellar example of the potential that is present within the Delta region. Shawn Peebles, with the help of community and organizational support, was able to expand his family's legacy back into more lucrative farming, growing specialty crops that were common in the region before commodity row crops took over the region’s farming scene.
Descendants of the Dirty Delta
The legacy of agriculture continues to run deep 90 miles southeast of Augusta, in the city of Helena, Ark. Situated on the banks of the Mississippi River, the town’s history whispers of the Civil War, agriculture, and the blues. Among the ghosts of its once thriving downtown lies a family business that is alive and ready for revival: Delta Dirt Distillery.
Harvey Williams Jr and his high school sweetheart, Donna Williams, founded Delta Dirt Distillery in 2017 after Williams left his corporate job. In the past few years, the company has thrived by creating a new market for the distillation and tasting of spirits.
© WWF-US/Ashleigh Coleman
Williams’ family has a rich history in farming. His great grandfather, Joe Williams, was a sharecropper in the late 1800s. In 1949, his grandfather, U.D. Williams, purchased the land that he sharecropped with money he had earned from his moonshine business. This land was inherited by Harvey Williams Sr., Williams’ father, and was the inspiration behind his distillery. He decided to take the sweet potatoes from the farm and create something new: sweet potato vodka and gin.
All of the Willams family’s products are produced in his factory in downtown Helena. Everything from fermenting the grains to packaging the beverage takes place in the back area of his factory. Visitors can view through a window during tastings or even schedule a tour on Delta Dirt Distillery’s website.
He works alongside his wife as founder and CEO, while his two sons manage the distilling and operations, and his daughter recently began working on communications. Together they create an atmosphere that gives the nation a taste of the Delta, further emphasizing the possibility that is in store by bringing specialty crops to the region.
Reflecting
“If you work the land with that kind of intimacy, you're going to get really attached,” said Hallie Shoffner, a sixth generation farmer and Next California Advisory board member. Schoffner has been working closely with WWF and Aglaunch to help carry out the introduction of specialty crops into the Delta region.
Farmers like Hallie recognize that the beauty in the tradition of agriculture coexists with the potential for it to evolve in different regions. It is these farmers and their families who know the land the best and understand how diversifying produce in the region will help both America and their bottom line.
© WWF-US/Ashleigh Coleman
While on the trip, Julia Kurnik posed the question, “Which state grows more peaches, California or Georgia?” I was born in Georgia, and although we call ourselves the peach state, California actually wins there, as it does regarding most specialty crops and produce.
As a California resident who was born and raised in the South, I and my heart align closely with WWF’s Next California project. While in the Delta, I was reminded of the rich soil and humid atmosphere that made me nostalgic for my youth. What comforted me was knowing that this landscape, rich with a beautiful, yet complex agricultural history, could become a savior for my home state of California.
There my two worlds collided, within the promise of yesterday and the hope of tomorrow.
Everyone should learn the personal impact that agriculture has on both their community, and our nation, including understanding the primary produce your local farmers harvest, and how that food makes its way through the supply chain. And go a step further, researching what you can do to support the livelihoods of those that help keep us fed.
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© WWF-US / Darren Higgins
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