Flooding Damages Crops in Louisiana
by Debra Beachy, AgWeb.com
A torrent of rain that dumped two feet of rain in 48 hours over Louisiana, killing 10 people and flooding 40,000 homes, has inundated rice fields and some soybean crops, according to a Louisiana Farm Bureau spokesman.
“Some farmers lost crops,” said Neil Melancon, assistant director of public relations at the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation. “We’re assessing the damage" to rice and soybean fields and displaced cattle, he said. Markets reacted sharply, with rice futures making their biggest gain in five years on Monday, observed Carey Martin, of the Farm Bureau’s radio network.