Harvey Creeps Closer to Louisiana Agriculture

By Carey Martin, Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation

Rain continues to fall on much of Louisiana as Tropical Storm Harvey slowly makes its way toward our state.

Rice farmers did their best to get as much of the remaining first crop rice out of the field as possible before the rain set in, according to Mark Tall, rice marketing specialist with the Louisiana Farm Bureau Marketing Association's rice marketing office in Crowley.

"There was some rice harvested as late as Friday, and moisture was in the mid-20s.  In some cases it was a bit higher," said Tall.  "They had no choice but to harvest it while they could."

Tall said it will take a lot of time to dry down that high moisture rice to a reasonable level.

The rain totals are expected to continue climbing as the storm makes its way across Louisiana. USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey believes there's could be more double-digit rainfall coming to southwest Louisiana on top of the already rain gauge busting totals.

"Those areas, in addition to some rain that's already fallen there on the order of five to ten inches in some areas, could see anywhere from five to 15 additional inches," said Rippey.