Hopeso Farms in Mississippi: History, What It Grows, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It

Profile updated November 2026

Hopeso Farms is a roughly 3,200-acre corn and soybean operation in Sunflower County, in the Mississippi Delta, owned and run by Terry K. Maxwell of Inverness. It earned a place in the record books as the first recipient of the Mississippi Leopold Conservation Award, presented in December 2024 at the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting. The award recognized decades of work on drainage, land leveling, soil health and groundwater savings.

History of Hopeso Farms

Terry Maxwell started farming in the Mississippi Delta in 1972, and the farm he built, Hopeso Farms, grew into about 3,200 acres of corn and soybeans near Inverness in Sunflower County. The Delta's flat, heavy alluvial ground rewards careful water management, and the story of this farm is largely a story of managing water: where it goes after a rain, and where it comes from in a dry August.

His first major conservation investment was underground drainage pipe to control erosion and soil saturation. Beginning in the 1990s he added precision land leveling. Over the years he moved to minimum tillage and cover crops, started soil sampling every acre every year, and began applying fertilizer at variable rates. In 2024 the Sand County Foundation, American Farmland Trust and Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation named him the first Mississippi Leopold Conservation Award recipient.

What Hopeso Farms Grows and Raises

Hopeso Farms grows corn and soybeans, and manages 225 acres of hardwood timber with selective harvesting. Equipment runs on wide tracks to reduce soil compaction, and buffer strips are maintained along waterways. Soil moisture meters guide irrigation decisions, and since 2012 water flow meters have helped state regulators track water drawn from the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer.

Water is the farm's headline story. Maxwell took 120 acres out of production to build four tailwater recovery systems and repurposed a natural reservoir to store and reuse water. The Sand County Foundation reports that these changes cut water use by 25 percent and save about $112,000 a year. The farm also serves as a USDA cooperating site where hydrologists study tailwater recovery and groundwater sustainability.

How Hopeso Farms Makes Money

Row-crop sales

Corn and soybeans are the commodity backbone of the farm. Delta growers sell through local elevators, merchants and processors, and the farm's published conservation story is built around lowering the cost of producing each bushel rather than chasing price.

Lower input and water costs

The published water savings of about $112,000 a year show how conservation can act as a revenue stream. The foundation notes that lower input costs from precision agriculture help offset the expense of practices such as cover crops and minimum tillage.

Timber and land stewardship

Hardwood timber covers 225 acres, and selective harvesting keeps the stand productive over the long term. Taking marginal ground out of crop production for water recovery also protects the acres that earn the most.

Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Hopeso Farms

Treat water as a capital asset. Hopeso Farms invested in measurement first, with moisture meters, flow meters and annual soil sampling, and then in infrastructure such as tailwater recovery. Measurement lets a farmer prove savings, which matters to lenders, regulators and landlords.

Give up some acres to protect the rest. Idling 120 acres for recovery systems is a trade many operators resist, yet the published results suggest it can pay back through lower pumping and input bills. Sequence the work: drainage and leveling first, then tillage and cover crops, then variable-rate inputs.

How to Contact Hopeso Farms

Hopeso Farms Sources and Agriculture Authority Links

• Sand County Foundation announcement - Terry K. Maxwell receives the first Mississippi Leopold Conservation Award
• Mississippi Farm Bureau Leopold coverage - Farm Bureau coverage of the Mississippi Leopold award program
• Mississippi State Extension - Mississippi agriculture value and context
• USDA Census of Agriculture - National and state farm statistics
• USDA Farmers.gov - Conservation, loan and risk programs for farmers

Hopeso Farms FAQ

Where is Hopeso Farms?

Hopeso Farms is near Inverness in Sunflower County in the Mississippi Delta, according to the Sand County Foundation.

What does Hopeso Farms grow?

It grows corn and soybeans on about 3,200 acres and includes 225 acres of hardwood timber.

Why is Hopeso Farms considered elite?

Terry K. Maxwell received the first Mississippi Leopold Conservation Award in 2024, recognizing water, soil and drainage work.

How did Hopeso Farms cut water use?

Through flow meters, moisture meters, tailwater recovery systems and a repurposed reservoir, which reportedly cut water use by 25 percent.

Hopeso Farms shows that a Delta row-crop farm can grow its resilience by treating water and soil as assets to be measured and reinvested in. For the wider picture of crops, catfish, poultry and forestry, read the Mississippi farms guide and the other profiled operations.