For many cotton growers, hurricane/tropical storm Francine has thrown a wrench in cotton defoliation and harvest plans. Prior to Francine, there were many reports of cotton lodging, or “laying over”. This was most likely due to the fruit shed event Louisiana experienced in August. After shedding fruit in the lower canopy, cotton plants became heavier further up the canopy as bolls continued to develop and mature. As the bolls grew, the plant became heavier.
Read MoreSugarcane growers in south Louisiana were making preparations for the upcoming harvest season when Hurricane Francine came ashore last week, bringing winds that knocked their crop over and heavy rains that flooded fields that were already saturated from recent rainfall.
Now, farmers in several parishes of Louisiana’s cane belt are waiting for things to dry out and for the crop to stand itself back up. With a few days of sunny weather in the forecast, they’re optimistic they will soon be back on track.
Read MoreMany areas of Louisiana received several consecutive days of rain between August 28 to September 12. The rainy period was capped off with Hurricane Francine on September 11. The continuous precipitation caused weather damage in soybean plants that were mature or near maturity.
Fields planted on or before April 16 at the Dean Lee Research and Extension Center were harvested by August 28 and had good yield and quality. In addition, fields planted on May 6 or later did not show weather damage on September 12.
Read MoreA leader with the American Soybean Association says she’s concerned about the threat of a port strike and its potential impact on the soy industry.
ASA director of government affairs Alexa Combelic says a shutdown of East and Gulf Coast export facilities would disrupt the U.S. supply chain. “These are the ports that are shipping goods via container,” she said. “While most soybeans are sent via bulk shipment, we have over two and a half million metric tons of soybeans that are shipped via container.”
Read MoreThe 2024/25 U.S. corn outlook calls for smaller supplies and a modest decline in ending stocks. Projected beginning stocks for 2024/25 are 55 million bushels lower based on increases in exports and corn used for ethanol for 2023/24. Corn production for 2024/25 is forecast at 15.2 billion bushels, this estimate is a 39 million bushel increase from last month’s projections. This production increase was the result of a 0.5-bushel increase in yield from previous estimates to 183.6 bushels per acre. Harvested area for grain is unchanged at 82.7 million.
Read MoreLouisiana corn for grain production is forecast at 85.0 million bushels, up 3 percent from August 1 forecast but down 29 percent from 2023. Based on conditions as of September 1, yield is expected to average 191 bushels per acre, up 6 bushels from last month and up 16 bushels from last year. Harvested acreage for grain is estimated at 445,000 acres, down 235,000 acres from 2023.
Read MoreA farmer in North Dakota used soybeans to propose to his girlfriend in a unique way that took months of planning.
Justin Lehmann started planning the proposal in May when he was planting soybeans on his farm near Havana.
Read MoreThe Dean Lee Research and Extension Center is cancelling the Soybean Production School that was to be held Tuesday, September 10 at the State Evacuation Shelter due to the inclement weather coming in. You will be notified when rescheduling is determined.
Also, for any who may have been planning to attend the Beef Cattle Field Day on Thursday, September 12, this has also been cancelled until further notice.
Read MoreThings are looking pretty good overall, we’re done with corn harvest, most of my guys are harvesting rice right now, some of the guys are getting close to the end of rice harvest. Overall, I’d say, we’re in the middle to the other side of rice harvest. Soybean harvest is in full swing, making a lot of progress there. Just starting to defoliate, I guess about ten days into defoliating some cotton.
Read MoreLouisiana leads the country for soybeans dropping leaves. Soybean maturity in the state climbed 10 percentage points to 40% the week ending Aug. 25. That’s just ahead of the five-year average of 37%.
Soybeans in good/excellent condition made up 74% of Louisiana’s crop the week ending Aug. 25. That’s an impressive number on its own, but a nosedive compared to 84% good/excellent soybeans reported the week prior.
Read MoreLouisiana leads the country for soybeans dropping leaves. Soybean maturity in the state climbed 10 percentage points to 40% the week ending Aug. 25. That’s just ahead of the five-year average of 37%.
Read MoreThe Dean Lee Research and Extension Center will play host to the Soybean Production School on September 10th from 4 to 6 PM with activities starting at the Sate Evacuation Shelter near the LSU-A campus.
Read MoreIt’s dry…we went from the end of July when we were trying to look for a break in the rains to now where we’re looking for a rain. We’re trying to finish out the last of these crops, and it’s not going easy.
It depends on where you’re at, on how the crops are looking…the late planted beans are looking really good, but this dry weather, as they move into pod filling stages, is really taking a toll on them. A really good rain would really set this crop up for a good finish.
Read MoreThings are looking pretty good…we’re in the middle of a dry spell right now, which is great for corn harvest, great for wrapping up a cotton crop right now. Soybeans are needing some water, but as long as we’ve got irrigation, we’ll hang in the game a little while. As mentioned, corn harvest is getting into full swing, most everybody’s going to at least get started this week, and there are those who have been started, primarily south of I-20 for the last 10 days or so.
Read MoreThis report contains supply and demand use estimates for the corn, soybean, rice, and cotton markets.
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