Louisiana Agriculture Suffers Millions In Flood Related Losses

Even if you weren't directly affected by the recent flooding in Louisiana at sometime in the near future you will feel the pinch. While many individual businesses have suffered severe losses there may be no greater loss to an entire industry than the one suffered by Louisiana' agricultural community.

The thing to keep in mind about agricultural losses is eventually they will affect all of us. Not just the citizens of Louisiana but the citizens of the world. It is estimated that the high water has cost the agriculture community across the state $110 million and counting.

Rice and soybeans being the two major commodities that make up the majority of that $110 million impact, some replanting costs in terms of sugar cane, a little bit of yield loss with sweet potatoes.

Those very sobering observations come from Kurt Guidry who is with the LSU AgCenter. His comments were noted in a story published by the Louisiana Radio Network.

In breaking down the losses the state's soybean growers suffered the most losing about $46 million in crops. Louisiana rice farmers were not far behind suffering an estimated loss of more than $33 million.

In some instances, we’ll have to wait a week or two to see how weather conditions materialize to determine really the true exact nature of this damage.

Livestock losses were not included in this report but for reference, the flooding in North Louisiana this year took between 500 and 600 head of cattle from Louisiana farms and ranches.

It’s perceivable that we lost that much here in the southern part of the state with this latest event.

Farmers and ranchers are reminded to report farm losses to the Farm Service Agency. It's that department in the federal government that is responsible for overseeing aid and assistance for farming operations across the country.