Ole Miss Alum Adds 'Delta Ag Journal' to List of Delta Publications

By Robert McFarland

Back in 1984 when Shelby, Mississippi native Scott Coopwood graduated from Ole Miss, he moved to Jackson where he entered the music business. Although based in the Capital City, Coopwood spent much time in Los Angeles, New York and London during those years pursuing his dream. But after a five year run in the music business, Coopwood realized he needed to move into another profession — if he wanted to earn a living.
“It took awhile, but I found out that being in the music business wasn’t necessarily feast or famine, it was nothing but famine!” he laughs.
At the suggestion of a close friend and armed with an English degree, Coopwood entered the newspaper and magazine publishing business in Jackson in 1989. He has been in it ever since. However, in 1996 Coopwood longed for home. That is when he sold his publishing interests in Jackson and moved back to his native Delta where in 1998 he started the Delta Business Journal, the first business journal in the history of the Mississippi Delta. In fact, the Delta Business Journal just celebrated its 20th anniversary. In 2003, Coopwood started the lifestyle publication, Delta Magazine and a few years after he started Sunday morning newspapers in Oxford and Cleveland.
“We enjoyed the newspaper business, but with the rise of the Internet, we exited that business and have concentrated on our magazines,” says Coopwood.
Apparently that was a good decision because today, Coopwood and his Cleveland, Mississippi-based company publish four magazines and two weekly e-newsletters. And despite competition from the Internet, Coopwood’s magazines are in fact growing.
His latest venture is the Delta Ag Journal.
“For ten years we had been thinking about publishing a lifestyle magazine for farmers,” says Coopwood. “So, this past January we jumped in those waters and so far the publication has done very well.”
Published quarterly, the Delta Ag Journal (deltaagjournal.com) is mailed to 5,200 farmers and agribusinesses in the Mississippi Delta. Additional copies are provided at sixty-eight distribution points in and around the Delta. Three editions have been published so far with the current edition published this week. The publication is free and does not require a paid subscription. 
“Just call our office here in Cleveland and we’ll add you to our mailing list and it won’t cost anyone a dime,” says Coopwood.
Articles in the Delta Ag Journal include spotlights on farmers, farm families, farm businesses, articles about the Delta’s farming history, extension agent spotlights, and other farm-related stories.
The current edition also includes an article on the importance of the Delta’s Mississippi River ports to farmers; an article on the increasing number of workers from South Africa who spend a few months each year working on farms in the Delta; and a piece on the historic Sunflower Plantation. That plantation was established just east of Merigold, Mississippi by President Roosevelt’s administration during the Depression years. The black and white photography included in the Sunflower article was taken in the 1930s and is eye catching.
“We have received some wonderful response from the current edition and in particular the Sunflower Plantation article,” says Coopwood. “All of us are aware the other President Roosevelt (Teddy) ventured down to Rolling Fork for his famous bear hunt. But what many may not realize is that he also stayed on Sunflower Plantation a few miles east of Merigold and he hunted there. In fact, after Roosevelt returned to The White House from his hunt, he sent two Ginko trees to Sunflower Plantation to be planted at the headquarters to express his gratitude for the hospitality he was shown. One tree died, but the other one still lives today and we found it. It took us a week to find it because the headquarters has long been gone and the Sunflower Plantation doesn’t exist anymore as a whole, it is divided up into small farms.”
And what is next for Coopwood’s publishing company?
“We’re always thinking and planning, but I expect we’ll sit tight for the moment and manage what we have!” he laughs.
For more information on the Delta Ag Journal, visit deltaagjournal.com.

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