Louisiana Farmers Struggling with Hay, Feeding Cattle After Harvey
Flooding from Hurricane Harvey is slow to drain in some areas of southwest Louisiana one week after the storm made landfall. Agricultural fields consisting primarily of rice and soybeans are suffering from the most damage.
According to agents from the Louisiana State University AgCenter say the biggest concern is moving cattle to higher ground and feeding them.
Before the storm, farmers were struggling to cut hay before the storm because of the wet summer. Many will not have the hay reserves they typically have entering winter.
“About half of the farmers have even cut hay for their first time, so we have a lot of old hay in the fields that needs to get harvested,” said Jimmy Meaux, a county agent for Calcasieu Parish. “The quality is not going to be there, but we’re hopefully going to be able to cut as much as we can.”
It could take weeks before crops such as sweet potatoes and cotton begin to show signs of damage caused by Harvey.
