After Hurricane Laura, Crop Races to the Finish Line

By Corey Conner, Horizon Ag

The storm system that I mentioned in my last update ended up a Category 4 hurricane at landfall. Landfall was at 1 a.m. on Thursday, August 27, 2020, in Cameron, Louisiana. Laura is tied for the strongest storm to landfall in Louisiana. The other is a storm that struck in 1856. The southwestern part of Louisiana has extensive damage starting in Jefferson Davis Parish and moving west to the border. Hurricane-force winds were easily felt in central Louisiana. Rain was around 7 inches from the system. Grain storage for some farmers was damaged in Jeff Davis, Cameron and Calcasieu parishes. In this time of need for some people, it has been refreshing to see the help that neighbors, friends and strangers are giving to each other.

Harvest in South Louisiana is 95% complete. The late rice was impacted by Laura in two ways. The first is lodging; naturally, the high winds will knock the rice down. The second issue is the heads will be stripped of seed from the strong winds. The second crop seems to be not impacted too severely.

Harvest in the eastern part of Texas is moving nicely. I would say they are 70% complete. I believe they have minimal impacts from Laura. West of Houston, harvest is complete. Yields were excellent and then started to taper off later in the season.