If this year’s crops are any indication, the country group Alabama may have come out of retirement to release a new track soon — “High Corn.”

The best-selling country act of the 1980s had a big hit with “High Cotton” but this year across the Miss-Lou corn is king and farmers are hoping the corn — and the profits — are high come harvest time.

One local agriculture spokesman says the area has more corn planted this year than any other time since the 1960s.

That says something about the expected high price of corn as national attention begins to focus on corn-based ethanol as a potentially growing fuel source.

In addition to the raw goods they produce that we use — food, cotton, animal feed, etc. — farmers may hold the future of our nation’s energy independence, too.

Creating alternative fuel sources such as ethanol is only one of the many burgeoning reasons that America’s farmers continue to hold a vital role in our economy.

Although they may not dominate the economy like they once did, local farmer are still huge economic drivers in our area. Often the overall economy seems to grow in conjunction with the crops. When the farming is thriving, the area is generally thriving, too.

With continued good weather and a few blessings from above, when harvest time comes the entire area will have something to sing about this year.