Lack of rain hurting corn, livestock, soybeans in La.

• Advocate news services
• Published: Jun 19, 2009 - Page: 6B

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The current spate of dry weather approaching drought conditions has Louisiana farmers in a bind, according to experts with the LSU AgCenter.

Some of the state’s corn crop “is really suffering,” said  Ronnie Levy, LSU AgCenter soybean and small grain specialist based in Alexandria. “Early-planted fields are doing OK, but later-planted corn is going to have yield losses.”

“We went from wet to dry in a really short time,” Levy said.

Levy pointed out that lack of rain primarily affects fields that are not irrigated, although production costs can rise as farmers spend more money pumping water onto dry fields.

“The corn crop went from excellent to less than average without irrigation,” the LSU AgCenter specialist said.

SOYBEANS: The soybean crop, on the other hand, is suffering more, Levy said.

“Most soybean fields are severely affected, especially in south Louisiana, where almost none is irrigated,” Levy said.

“Some of the fields won’t recover,” he added. “Once soybeans start to flower, they won’t get taller, and that limits the yield potential. With no forecast rain in the next week, we can see a large impact on yield.”

Levy said what might have been a 40-bushel-per-acre soybean crop could be reduced to 20 bushels per acre statewide.

HAY: “Dry weather is starting to have a significant impact on pasture and hay production around the state for the beef and dairy industries,” said  Gary Hay, interim director of the LSU AgCenter’s School of Animal Sciences in Baton Rouge.

It’s also starting to affect corn for the dairy farmers who grow corn for silage, Hay said.

LIVESTOCK: Dairy farmers in southeast Louisiana also are feeling the consequences, said Mike McCormick, resident coordinator of the LSU AgCenter’s Southeast Research Station in Franklinton.

“Because more than 80 percent of Louisiana dairies are pasture-based, we are seeing steadily diminishing levels of pasture grass,” McCormick said. As a result, dairy farmers are resorting to stored feed, he said.