The 2021 Mid-South Farm and Gin Show did not fill the halls of its convention facility for the first time in its nearly 70-year history. But the show went on because its organizers had prepared for holding it virtually.

The Southern Cotton Ginners Association, which sponsors the event along with Delta Farm Press, filled the newly renovated Memphis Renasant Convention Center this year with farmers, their families and agribusiness representatives from across the Mid-South and Southeast.

“It was a very difficult decision for the board to make, but I feel like we made the right decision,” said Sam E. Angel II, president of the Southern Cotton Ginners, referring to the 2021 show. “COVID-19 has changed the way we work and live in many ways.

“The virtual show still gave the SGA an opportunity to have a presence as well as giving our exhibitors an opportunity to show what they had new for 2021 in a safe manner. The 2022 show will be one of the best ever with the new exhibit space allowing options we have never had in the past.”

Gin show

The 2022 show was the first to fully occupy the Renasant Center since the City of Memphis completed a $200-million modernization of the facility. Among its new features are a 118,000-square-foot exhibit hall that is believed to be the largest in the region.

The new Large Hall, which has no columns or other impediments, provided Gin Show attendees with more room to see exhibitors and visit with friends along with a sweeping view of the Mississippi River on the west end of the space.

Visitors were pleasantly surprised as they made their way through the new center.  

“The Cook Convention Center has been very good for the Gin Show," said Angel. "The Renasant Center will take the Gin Show to a new level!"

The outlook for commodity prices, and especially new crop cotton, which has been trading around 90 cents per pound, appears brighter than it has in some time, according to Angel, who owns and operates the historic Epstein Gin in Lake Village, Ark.

Angel said the increases in prices came too late for producers who had sold or booked the 2021 crop well before futures rose above $1 a pound. “I feel like for the 2022 crop the prices will increase acres as well as bring some farmers that have never planted cotton into the cotton business,” he noted.

Many growers are concerned about higher input costs for 2022. “Hopefully, the input cost will not weigh any heavier on the cotton industry than others,” he noted. “The input increase is a concern across the board with the agricultural industry.”

Civic leadership

Besides being a ginner, Angel serves as chairman of the board of the Chicot Memorial Medical Center in Lake Village and is chief of the Lake Village Fire Department and a certified (EMR) emergency medical responder. Those roles have given him a front-row seat for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Angel is chief of the Lake Village Fire Department and a certified (EMR) emergency medical responder. (Sam Angel)

“What a whirlwind it has been; I have seen the COVID-19 pandemic change the way we live,” he said. “The hospital has seen patient loads increase along with staff and PPE shortages. The fire department has seen increases in calls that require enhanced safety measures for every call.

“The ginning season, I believe, was much better this year even though labor was short. We learned how to gin COVID safe in 2020. We made it through the 2021 ginning season without a single COVID positive test or time loss injury.”

Angel also serves as chairman of the board of the Arkansas Department of Agriculture and on the Lake Village City Council. So he is accustomed to juggling roles and keeping things running smoothly.

That includes the Epstein Gin, which has been in operation in Lake Village and in Angel’s family since 1917.

“We had a good year despite the supply chain delays,” he said. “There were times that we had to wait a day or so for parts or supplies but keeping an eye on those items allowed no interruptions in the ginning year. If I had to identify a “surprise” I would say it would be price increases on supplies.”

The availability of labor, which is an issue throughout the economy, also visited itself on the gin. “Ginning, like most other agricultural businesses, is seasonal, therefore, labor is normally an issue,” he noted. “The pandemic has made that to be more of a problem than years past. Here with our operation most of our employees are full time, but this year we did have to bring in some guys from the farm that in the past we didn’t need in the gin.”

Several farmers have reached out to the gin about increasing cotton acres in 2022. “As we see what the cotton acres look like, we will decide what needs to be done. At this point, we have started our normal maintenance and yearly repairs. We will also be making improvements to the bottlenecks that we identified during the ginning season.”

Seed size of the newer cotton varieties continues to be a problem for ginners, but Angel believes progress is being made. “The issue has been brought to the table and seed breeders are working on the issue,” he noted. “Seed size didn’t occur overnight nor will it be resolved overnight. I feel like we will start seeing larger seed size in the coming years.”

Although 2021 has been a challenging year for Epstein Gin and the Southern Cotton Ginners Association, Angel says he has been able to continue to fulfill his multiple roles “thanks to the help of Tim Price, the SCGA’s executive director. He has been extremely helpful to me.

“I have also been blessed to have the opportunity to work with my father, Sam Angel, every day. That makes doing what I do that much better. Now we have my brother, Ben Angel, here with us to carry the torch in the future.”