June 21, 2011
The drought and heat are turning out to be more of a problem for Louisiana farmers than the flood. Although it’s too early to predict the effects on crop yields and livestock production, 2011 is definitely not going to be as good as 2010.
“There’s still time for some of the later-planted crops such as soybeans, cotton and sugarcane,” said Kurt Guidry, LSU AgCenter economist. “They’re a little more drought-resistant than corn and grain sorghum.”
Flooding from the Mississippi River was expected to be much worse than it turned out to be in Louisiana, although it has been devastating in some areas with some farmers losing as many as 1,000 acres.
Overall, the flooding affected about 40,000 to 50,000 acres along the Mississippi River and the Morganza Spillway.
“We don’t have all the numbers yet,” Guidry said, adding that farmers who had crop insurance will recover some losses, depending on their level of coverage.
The drought alone might not be so much of a problem if it weren’t for the high, sustained heat. Production costs keep going up when farmers have to continually irrigate. Fuel costs continue to be high.
Although he’s not sure how many farmers have irrigation systems, Guidry estimates that it’s about 30 percent to 40 percent and the numbers are gradually growing.
“Most of the irrigation is in the northeast part of the state,” Guidry said.
Drought stress is evident on soybean plants across the state, said Ron Levy, soybean special at the LSU AgCenter Dean Lee Research Station in Alexandria. Plants are shorter; leaves are curled, and some are starting to turn yellow.