American Farm Bureau
Hurricane Ida marked the fourth hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic season. Tied in Louisiana landfall intensity with the Last Island Hurricane of 1856 and 2020's Hurricane Laura , Ida touched down on Aug. 26 at 1 p.m. near Port Fourchon as a category 4 hurricane with sustained winds over 150 mph. The storm continued its trajectory on a northeast path toward New England, leaving behind a trail of flooding and severe wind damage. Ida not only threatened crop yields due to direct physical destruction and grain shipments due to port closures, the storm caused widespread infrastructure damage and power outages. Food crops exposed to but not destroyed by flood waters may face mandatory disposal or diversion per the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) flood-affected food crop guidance - reducing farm-level production and corresponding income opportunities.
Hurricane Ida made landfall in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain region of Louisiana, which includes the nutrient-rich southeastern low swamplands, coastal marshlands and beaches that makeup the “boot” and Mississippi River basin segment of the state. Responsible for 47.8% of the nation’s sugarcane production by value, this region of Louisiana generates over $540 million in direct sugarcane receipts, representing over 18% of the state’s total agricultural production by value. Figure 1 illustrates the value of sugarcane production by Louisiana county and provides a National Weather Service map showcasing Hurricane Ida wind behavior. Hurricane force winds, as categorized by the agency’s National Hurricane Center, aligned almost perfectly with the state’s sugarcane acreage. Direct damage from high winds and other related conditions threatened the near-500,000 acres of sugarcane crop vital to Louisiana’s economy. Fortunately, wind-flattened sugarcane can still be harvested, albeit through a more time- and energy-intensive process; a surprising 58% of the sugarcane crop was rated as “good” in USDA’s Sept. 7 Crop Progress and Conditions report.