Organized in 1948, the Mississippi Chemical Corporation was the nation's first farmer-owned nitrogen fertilizer plant. Under the leadership of Owen Cooper, director of the Farm Bureau Federation and a well-known humanitarian, the company quickly expanded and became publicly traded in 1994. By 2004, the fertilizer industry had collapsed and the corporation filed for bankruptcy. The plant was sold to Terra Industries and then to CF Industries. Cooper is a member of the Mississippi Hall of Fame.