Alabama (state)

A

Agriculture

In 2005 there were 43,500 farms in Alabama. Of those 32 percent had annual sales of more than $10,000; many of the rest were sidelines for operators who held other jobs. Farmland occupied 3.5 million hectares (8.6 million acres), of which 44 percent was cropland. Most of the remainder was pasture, although farmers kept some of their land as woodlots.

The sale of livestock and livestock products accounted for 82 percent of the income generated on farms in 2004, with sales of crops accounting for the remainder. Alabama’s livestock and animal products include chickens, particularly broilers (young chickens used for food); beef cattle; eggs; hogs; and milk. The state’s chief crops are greenhouse and nursery products, peanuts, and cotton. Other crops raised in the state include hay, soybeans, corn, wheat, potatoes, oats, and sorghum. Some tobacco is grown, which is used in the manufacture of cigars.

A

1

Patterns of Farming

The Tennessee River valley is the major cotton-growing area in the state, although soybeans, cattle, and winter-sown grains are also raised there. When fertilized, the sandy loams of the Cumberland Plateau yield good crops of cotton and corn; poultry and other livestock are an important source of income for farmers there. Peach, pear, and apple orchards dot the slopes of the Ridge and Valley province, and forests thrive on the Piedmont. Beef and dairy cattle graze on the lush grasslands that now cover the Black Belt, once a major cotton-growing area.

In the southeast the most striking result of the cotton-boll weevil infestation during the first quarter of the 20th century was the shift from cotton growing to the cultivation of peanuts, soybeans, and corn. The farmers later introduced hogs to root over the peanut fields after harvesting. They also introduced cattle and chickens. In the southwest fruit and vegetables are cultivated.

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B

Fisheries

The total income from fishing is relatively small in Alabama, just $37 million in 2004. However, the coastal waters yield quantities of shrimps, oysters, crabs, pompano, mullet, snapper, and many other sea fishes. Fishing vessels take their catch to Mobile and to other Alabama ports to be processed in local canneries or to be shipped to markets that are located farther away.

C

Forestry

Lumbering has been carried on in Alabama since about 1830, but until the 20th century no effort was made to plan for a continued yield through selective cutting and reforestation. After 1930 the production of wood products expanded rapidly, and pine forests now supply the greater part of Alabama’s lumber, as well as valuable quantities of turpentine, tar, and rosin. Even scrub timber, once regarded as useless, is in demand for wood pulp, and many farmers sell such pulpwood to supplement their income.

Tree farming is an important activity in Alabama. Fast-growing species, including several varieties of pine, are raised as crops and are harvested when mature, usually within five or seven years after being planted. With careful management even small tracts of woodland can provide a steady source of income for their owners.

D

Mining

Mineral resources have given Alabama a commanding lead among the Southern states in the production of iron and steel. Within a radius of about 25 km (about 15 mi) of the city of Birmingham are found deposits of the three basic raw materials required for steel production: iron ore, limestone, and bituminous coal. By the late 1970s, however, no iron ore was being mined in Alabama, and that used in the steel industry came from outside the state.

Natural gas is Alabama’s most valuable mineral, generating more than one-half of the state’s income from fossil fuels. Large deposits of bituminous coal are found in the northwestern section of the state, while deposits of lower-grade lignite are scattered around the coastal plain. Most of the coal extracted comes from underground mines, some of which are among the deepest in the United States. Tuscaloosa, Walker, and Jefferson are the leading coal-producing counties. Also important is petroleum, which along with natural gas comes mostly from wells in the southwestern counties of Mobile and Choctaw.

By value, principal nonfuel minerals produced in Alabama are cement, crushed and broken stone, lime, and sand and gravel. The state ranks fourth in the nation in lime production, while it is first in common clays and second in kaolin, a high-fire clay. Some of the world’s finest-grained marble is found in the Sylacauga area.

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