Agriculture Commissioner Lester Spell touted the success ofLincoln County’s rural development while attending a RepublicanParty rally Tuesday at the county’s multi-purpose building.

Lincoln County, he said, accounted for $57.33 million of thestate’s $6 billion in agriculture and forestry production lastyear.

The county’s contribution included $27 million in poultry, $20.1million in forestry and $7 million in beef cattle as well as asignificant portion of the state’s total production in dairy andcorn products, he said.

“The big challenge today is to keep agriculture profitable forthe people who engage in agriculture,” Spell said.

The commissioner said he was proud the number of farmers inMississippi has increased in recent years while the number offarmers in neighboring states has declined.

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