Obituary: Harris Barnes, Jr., Ag Journalist

Harris Barnes, Jr., a noted ag journalist, photographer and former plantation manager, died Friday in Clarksdale, Miss. Harris, who I counted as a long-time colleague, friend and a friendly competitor, was 87.

He wrote extensively for Farm Journal, Progressive Farmer and other main-line ag magazines and also was a former staff member of Delta Farm Press and Southeast Farm Press. Harris made a gradual transition to ag journalist and photography while working as a plantation manager in the north Delta of Mississippi. Always active in farm groups, he served a term as president of the American Soybean Association.

In recent years, he published a collection of his photos: Cotton: A 50-Year Pictorial History. That was followed by a second collection, The Beauty of Southern Agriculture. Six days before his death, he finished his third collection, The Good Ole Days.

A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, August 27 at First Presbyterian Church in Clarksdale, Miss.

Our deep sympathies to his family.

Click here to link to the obituary in today's Commercial Appeal.