The industry has continued to grow in Mississippi. The state has more than 250 food processing companies that employ approximately 30,000 workers.
Agriculture is a major industry. Mississippi ranks fourth in the nation in corn and cotton production, first in catfish production, and fifth in poultry production. The state is a leading producer of rice, soybeans, and vegetables. The industry contributes nearly $5 billion to the state’s economy.
Workforce is skilled in manufacturing. With a labor force of more than 36,000 workers (2010), approximately 30% are currently employed in manufacturing.
Transportation is quick and easy. Transportation of products is possible via 4-lane highways, ports, and rail lines. U.S Highway 72 runs east-west through the region and U.S Highway 45 runs north-south. Norfolk Southern, Kansas City Southern, Redmont Railway, Tishomingo Railway and Yellow Creek Port Short Line offer rail service in the region. Yellow Creek Port on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway provides water transportation.
Food Manufacturers in the TAP Alliance Region
Marathon Cheese
Located in Booneville, this company produces wide variety of cheese for 3rd party customers and offers custom packaging services and employees 170 people.
Plumrose, USA
Located in Booneville, this company produces sliced deli luncheon and canned meats and employs 550 people.
Suitor’s Food Service
Located in Rienzi, this company does food processing/meat and employs 10 people.
Food Manufacturers in Mississippi
These include
- Sara Lee Foods – Tupelo
- Sara Lee Bakery Group – Meridian
- Bryant’s Meat Company, Inc. – Taylorsville
- Peco Foods – Brooksville, Bay Springs, Canton, and Sebastopol
- Tyson Foods – Grow Out – Forest, Carthage, Magee
- Sanderson Farms Inc. – Collins, Hazlehurst, Laurel, Summit, McComb, Hazlehurst
- Luvel Dairy Products, Inc. – Kosciusko
- Land O’ Lakes Purina Feed – Macon
Transportation
US Highways and Interstates
US Highway 72 (east-west) and US Highway 45 (north-south) are four-lane highways running through the TAP Alliance region. Future Interstate 22 is accessible from Tupelo (50 miles) and connects I-240 and I-40 with I-65 and I-20. Interstates 55, 22, and 40 are accessible from Memphis, approximately 110 miles from the TAP region. Several state highways serve the TAP Alliance region.
View map of highways in North Mississippi (365 KB, PDF)
Ports
Water transportation is available via the Tennessee River and Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (TTW). Yellow Creek Port on the TTW is near Iuka in Tishomingo County. This port is equipped with 200-ton capacity cranes, warehouse, as well as truck and rail facilities. It is a designated Foreign Trade Subzone and a federal HUBZone. Yellow Creek port has an onsite steel processing facility, which in 2012, will install the world’s largest stretcher-leveler. The port also has a cluster of steel processing facilities around it.
The Port of Itawamba also serves the TTW. Located 50 miles from the edge of the TAP Alliance, it has truck and rail facilities, warehouses, conveyor, 60-ton crane, and also provides cargo handling and logistical support.
View a map of ports along the Tenn-Tom Waterway in the TAP Alliance (1.2 MB, PDF)
Railroads
Rail lines serving the TAP Alliance region include Norfolk-Southern Railroad main line and 4 short lines: Kansas City Southern, Yellow Creek Port, Tishomingo Railroad, and Redmont.
View a map of rail lines serving the TAP Alliance region (1.8 MB, PDF).
Water Capacity
The Clifford G. Worsham Surface Water Treatment Plant began operations in 2012 and earned the 2014 Alabama/Mississippi section AWWA Water Plant of the Year Award. In 2016, the facility earned an Overall Maximum Rating of 5 issued by the Mississippi State Department of Health.
The $50 million state-of-the-art surface water treatment facility has the capacity to provide 10 million gallons per day (mgd) of treated water with allowance for expanding up to 16.5 mgd. The average water demand for the City of Corinth is 4.0 mgd. The August water peak demand is 5.0 mgd. The average excess treated water capacity is 6.0 mgd. During the peak demand month, the excess treated water capacity is 5.0 mgd.
Labor Availability and Wages for Food Manufacturing in the TAP Alliance Region
| Occupation | Current Jobs | Median Hourly Earning in TAP Region | Median Hourly Earning in Mississippi |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bakers | <10 | $10 | $10 |
| Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks | 64 | $16 | $16 |
| Butchers and meat cutters | <10 | $13 | $13 |
| Cashiers, except gaming | <10 | $9 | $9 |
| Cleaners of vehicles and equipment | <10 | $10 | $10 |
| Cleaning, washing, and metal pickling equipment operators and tenders | <10 | $12 | $12 |
| Conveyor operators and tenders | <10 | $12 | $12 |
| Cooling and freezing equipment operators and tenders | 10 | $12 | $12 |
| Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders | 11 | $12 | $12 |
| Driver/sales workers | <10 | $11 | $11 |
| Food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders | <10 | $11 | $11 |
| Food batchmakers | <10 | $12 | $12 |
| Food cooking machine operators and tenders | <10 | $14 | $14 |
| General and operations managers | 137 | $36 | $36 |
| Graders and sorters, agricultural products | <10 | $10 | $10 |
| Helpers - production workers | 173 | $11 | $11 |
| Industrial machinery mechanics | 93 | $24 | $24 |
| Industrial production managers | 64 | $40 | $40 |
| Industrial truck and tractor operators | 67 | $13 | $13 |
| Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers | 155 | $14 | $14 |
| Janitors and cleaners | 33 | $9 | $9 |
| Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand | 188 | $10 | $10 |
| Machine feeders and offbearers | 72 | $13 | $13 |
| Maintenance and repair workers, general | 117 | $14 | $14 |
| Maintenance workers, machinery | 43 | $19 | $19 |
| Managers, all others | <10 | $34 | $434 |
| Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers | 165 | $11 | $11 |
| Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders | 12 | $15 | $15 |
| Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders | 64 | $12 | $12 |
| Packers and packagers, hand | 68 | $9 | $9 |
| Retail salespersons | <10 | $10 | $10 |
| Separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders | <10 | $17 | $17 |
| Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks | 106 | $13 | $13 |
| Slaughterers and meat packers | 45 | $10 | $10 |
| Stock clerks and order fillers | 44 | $10 | $10 |
| Team assemblers | 588 | $14 | $14 |
| Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer | 48 | $18 | $18 |
| Truck drivers, light and delivery services | 22 | $12 | $12 |
| Weighers, measurers, checkers, and samplers, recordkeeping | <10 | $13 | $13 |
Workforce Training
Northeast Mississippi Community College
Division of Workforce Training and Economic Development
Offers customized job training to new and existing business and industry. Two training facilities are located within the TAP region, one in Corinth and the other in Booneville. Mobile training facilities may be available upon request for onsite training throughout the TAP region.
East Mississippi Community College
Center for Manufacturing Technology Excellence
Offers technical training relevant to Mississippi industries. 112 miles from the TAP region.
Workforce Services
Offers customized training to industry and core courses to individuals. The Manufacturing Academy course provides training in the essential skills defined by manufacturers in the area. These include quality tools, measuring instruments, problem-solving, applied math, critical thinking and more. Additional classes offered include
- Welding
- Truck Driving
- Avionics and cabling
- Construction
- Composite
- Electrical
- HVAC
- Machining
University of Mississippi, Center for Manufacturing Excellence
Center for Manufacturing Excellence
Provides manufacturing education through the mechanical engineering program, professional development courses, and is involved with industry-led research. 92 miles form the TAP region.
Agriculture Production Census Data
- 2012 Agriculture Census Alcorn County (PDF)
- 2012 Agriculture Census Prentiss County (PDF)
- 2012 Agriculture Census Tishomingo County (PDF)
Source: https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/