Potential record-setting crops threatened by Isaac

Hurricane Isaac could wreck what was shaping up to be an excellent year for Louisiana agriculture. The LSU AgCenter says the storm threatens what remains of the state’s record corn harvest, which—unlike most drought-starved crops across the country—started earlier than normal this year and has been moving rapidly. The drought has, however, slowed distribution of some of Louisiana’s crops; lower water levels of the Mississippi River have forced barges to load only half or two-thirds full, says LSU AgCenter feed grain and cotton specialist John Kruse. He says the harvest would have been done by now if not for transportation problems, and he estimates that around one-third of the 560,000-acre crop is still in the field. With the storm approaching, Kruse says farmers are today scrambling to get the rest of the crop in. “Everyone who has somewhere to put corn is out cutting it,” he says. Corn prices are currently high, around $8 a bushel, because of the shortages brought on by the drought. Not all corn will be cut before the storm moves through, Kruse says, and whatever isn’t could very likely be knocked down by strong winds. What equally concerns him is the state’s cotton, still in the fields. “This storm could really tear up our cotton crop,” he says. Get the full story from the LSU AgCenter here.