Southern potential: Agriculture & energy

By the League of South

 

Once upon a time, not so long ago, the Southern people enjoyed one of the wealthiest and most productive societies in the entire world. The Southern States produced about 75% of the world’s cotton, with sales of this crop constituting about 60% of all US exports. The strength of the US economy at that time was largely based on the output of Southern plantations. Cottonwas then the most valuable commodity traded internationally. This was before Southern independence and the subsequent US invasion and destruction of much of the South.

Much has changed since then but once again the South is in place to be among the wealthiest, most productive places on this planet. Southerners have largely recovered from the total war the United States waged against them and have an impressive infrastructure, agricultural output and energy potential. The only thing holding the South back at this point are the restrictive regulations and crippling policies imposed upon Southerners by the US Federal Government. Freed from those policies, there is no reason to believe Southerners wouldn’t return to a position of great prosperity.

Hunter Wallace at the site Confederate Renaissance has done some research over the last month or so on the economic output and potential of the South. His findings fly in the face of the US stereotype of the South being a backwards, impoverished region. As noted above, the only thing holding Southerners back is Washington, DC. Some of his findings are summarised below:

The South produces about half of US nuclear energy – and freed of DC regulations could produce MUCH more.

AGRICULTURE

• The South produces 80% of US cotton, with Texas (28.6%) leading the way and Mississippi (9.7%), Georgia (9%) and Arkansas (8.6%) all producing quite a bit as well.
• About 81% of US rice is produced in the South, with the people of Arkansas accounting for nearly half (46.7%).
• Poultry is almost an entirely (90%) Southern industry in the USA. Georgia and Arkansas are nearly tied for first place in this field.
• The South also produce nearly half (46%) of all the eggs in the US.
• Almost all (98.6%) of peanutsproduced in the US come from the South.
• The vast majority of pecans (76.2%) are produced in Dixie.
• The South produces 21% of US soybeans.
• One third (33,1%) of cattle and calves in the US come from the South.
• Twenty-seven percent of hogs in the US come from Dixie.
• About 60% of all US forest products are produced in the South.

ENERGY

• Eighteen percent of US coal reserves are in the South.
• Thirty-one percent of US coal production comes from the South.
• Texas, the Gulf of Mexico, Oklahoma and Louisiana are rich in natural gas.
• The South produces about half (47%) of the US’s electricity.

These are really just the tip of the iceberg. A great deal of South’s economic, agricultural and energy potential is not included here, but one can get an idea of the wealth that the South could produce from the above number. Is there any doubt that the South would be an economic superpower if it were freed from the burdensome regulations, taxation, and legislation forced upon it by Washington, DC? Southerners have one of the richest and most fertile lands in all the world. The Southern people have demonstrated the capacity to harness those resources, producing products that feed and provide energy for people across the United States and beyond. This combination of Southern ingenuity and a bountiful land would allow Southerners to enjoy an extremely high level of prosperity and production – if they were free. And as we have seen from recent polls and news reports, millions of Southerners do want to be free.