Farmers Still Assessing, Cleaning After Hurricane Ida Devastates South Louisiana
I had a chance to tour south Louisiana on the Friday after Hurricane Ida ripped through our area.
As a farmer myself, my heart goes out to those farmers who were in the path of the storm. The lodged sugarcane will very likely stand back up, but there’s definitely some torn tops out there, which means some of the cane won’t make it to harvest. The damage is still being looked at, and I can only pray most of it will be recoverable. We won’t know the full effects until all of the cane crop is in, probably sometime in January. Even though cane will stand back up, that energy won’t be used in making sugar during that time.
In addition, I got to see the damage to the Cargill facility in Reserve, where some of the mechanisms that bring grain from ship to shore collapsed. This is in addition to the lower Mississippi being closed for more than a week, which has affected grain prices nationally. Some soybean fields were both flooded and wind-damaged in south Louisiana, which looked to be a good crop after all the rain we’ve gotten this year.
Cattle producers will be dealing with the effects of this storm for awhile. The cattle down there are looking for feed and fresh water and those that won’t be able to find it will suffer. Disease will be an issue in the wake of the storm, as we saw in Plaquemines and Lafourche Parishes after Katrina.
North of the lake, the damage is extensive. Even though the hurricane was “only” a category 1 when it passed through portions of St. Helena and Tangipahoa, the damage to forestry and horticulture there is significant. The forestry damage comes a year after Hurricane Laura severely impacted forestry operations in western Louisiana and at a time in our country where shortfalls of lumber are causing a spike in prices. Many landowners in the Florida parishes use timber either as a primary source of income or as part of their retirement.
As members of the Farm Bureau Family, we know you want to help. Many of you have reached out asking what you can do and how you can get resources to the farmers and ranchers affected by the storm, just like you did 16 years ago following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and last year after hurricanes Laura and Delta.
If you would like to make a donation specifically to Louisiana farmers and ranchers, please donate to the Louisiana Farm Bureau Foundation Disaster Relief Fund. You can make checks payable to Louisiana Farm Bureau Foundation Disaster Relief Fund and send to:
Louisiana Farm Bureau Foundation
Disaster Relief Fund
P.O. Box 95004
Baton Rouge, LA 70895-9004
These funds will be designated for agricultural producers in the affected areas. We are certain this will be an ongoing effort as damage assessment continues.
Farm Bureau also has restarted the Hay Clearinghouse program to get south Louisiana cattlemen feed and fresh water. To either donate or receive, you can log onto lafarmbureau.org/hayclearinghouse, or call 225-922-6200.
Finally, I just want to ask if you know a farmer or rancher in the Ida-affected areas, reach out to them with a call, text or email and let them know you’re there if they need something. Many times, they just need someone to talk with instead of worrying about what comes next.
Debbie and I are praying for all those affected and for better weather ahead.