AgFax MidSouth Cotton - Louisiana
By AgFax Media LLC, AgFax.com
LOUISIANA CROP REPORTS
Hank Jones, C&J Ag Consulting, Pioneer, Louisiana:
"I don't think we'll be affected much by this tropical system (Gordon). It's not a category 3 hurricane. If that were the case, it might still be a category 1 hurricane when it reached us, but that's not how it's shaping up (as of late afternoon, 9/4).
"Frankly, I'm more worried about what the weather does on Friday and into the weekend once the storm passes through. If the sun comes out right away and things dry up quickly, we're back in business. But if cloudy weather persists and we get these little spits of rain, we'll see sprouting in both cotton and soybeans.
"Cotton has pretty much shut down. A little defoliation started, just enough to get pickers stirred up. I've just made the second shot on a few acres. Once we're into dry weather again, those applications will start up fast and 50% to 60% of the cotton will get the first shot right away.
"Most of this cotton looks pretty good and it's one of the better crops I've checked in the last 3 or 4 years. What cotton has been defoliated looks nice. Maybe we'll have a chance to redeem ourselves after bad crops in the last couple of years.
"Soybeans cut so far have been excellent without exception. We're on pace for this to be the best bean crop I've ever checked and, by far, the least expensive. Disease pressure has been low and I've recommended very few fungicide applications.
"As far as redbanded stink bugs go, 2018 has been the polar opposite to the overwhelming pressure that hit us in recent years. At least a third of my soybeans never had an insecticide. They were cut and went to the elevator without any damage.
"A lot of fields are averaging into the high 80s (bu/acre). The lowest yield I've heard was in the upper 40s, and those were dryland beans on clay. But a lot of dryland beans on better dirt are averaging into the 60s and 70s. Most everybody is pretty pleased with their soybeans.
"With corn, I'm hearing yields ranging from 190 to 250 bu/acre. About 30% of our corn was above the 5-year average and 70% fell within the 5-year average. We're done with corn harvest except for one late-season variety that root-lodged pretty badly, regardless of locations.
"Where yields were off a little, it probably had to do with irrigation – how well the water moved to the end of the field. If the amounts were short at the end of the row, you could see that on the yield monitor.
"With rice, we're kind of in the middle of harvest. Some hybrids are running 225 to 230 bu/acre green. The folks at the elevator say this looks like good rice but we still have a lot out there. The storm is a concern, of course."
Harold Lambert, Independent Consultant, Innis, Louisiana:
"A little defoliation started but we have mostly put that on hold with as wet as the weather has been. It's rained enough that cotton has kind of taken a beating. We sure didn't need these conditions with a lot of open bolls.
"Once this system (Gordon) moves through and the forecast calls for a window of open weather, more defoliation will start up. Our early-planted beans ahead of sugarcane planting are all harvested and a lot of our later MGIVs have been cut, as well. But we also have quite a bit of the crop that's been desiccated but frequent rains have kept combines out of the field.
"We do have a smattering of early to mid MGV beans. Depending on planting dates, they're still in some phase of pod development. Any stink bugs still around are rolling into those fields, and a fair amount of spraying has been necessary. Fortunately, we don't plant as many of those varieties as we once did.
"My rice was planted later after the crawfish season ended. It's all been drained but none has been harvested yet, as far as I know. Some rice stink bug pressure developed but nothing as intense as what we've had in the past."