TFB Donates to Louisiana Disaster Relief Fund to Benefit Farmers, Ranchers

Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) donated $10,000 to a disaster relief fund administered by the Louisiana Farm Bureau to benefit farmers and ranchers who suffered damages from Hurricane Ida.

The TFB Board of Directors authorized the donation at its Sept. 21-22 meeting.

The hurricane made landfall in Louisiana exactly 16 years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. Ida’s 150 mph winds make it equal in strength and intensity to 2020’s Hurricane Laura and the 1856 storm that hit the community of Last Island.

Ida’s winds toppled electrical transmission lines that provide power to grain export facilities and small family farms. The storm surge sent cattle to higher ground along levees with limited access to fresh water and forage.

Winds and floods from the hurricane caused at least $584 million in damage to agriculture in the state, according to a recent estimate from the LSU AgCenter. Those damages don’t take into account the losses suffered by the seafood industry, which will be estimated by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

The Louisiana Farm Bureau Foundation Disaster Relief Fund will designate funds for agricultural producers in the affected areas. The Foundation says farmers and ranchers who are affected will need a lot of assistance, and the effects of Hurricane Ida will be felt for a long time.

Donations to the Disaster Relief Fund can be made here.

If you have any questions or want more information about the relief fund, contact Ashley Stephens at 225.922.6201 or ashleys@lfbf.org or Kyle McCann at 225.922.6202 or kylem@lfbf.org.

If you have hay to donate, you can visit Louisiana Farm Bureau’s Hay Clearinghouse at https://lafarmbureau.org/hayclearinghouse. The platform connects ranchers who need hay or pastures with those who have hay or pasture space to donate during times of natural disaster. For more information about the Hay Clearinghouse, call 225.922.6200.