Adlar Stelly, a rice and crawfish farmer in Vermilion Parish, was ready to harvest his rice fields the day the rain started coming down.
It would have been his first harvest of the year.
But the rain didn't stop. And after record-breaking, historic level flooding swept much of Southeast Louisiana, Stelly said more than half of his 800 acres of crops could be totally ruined.
"Probably about 500 (acres) of it is under water," he said. "The rest of it, we will try to salvage what we can, but the quality of it is down."
On Tuesday, the LSU AgCenter estimated the state's agriculture industry would suffer at least $110 million in losses because of the recent flood event, with experts saying that the number would easily double as more damage and loss is revealed in the coming days.
The AgCenter's preliminary loss estimate pertains mostly to crop loss. But it has yet to take into account damages to equipment and irrigation infrastructure, loss of live stock and damage to crops in reserves. It's also unclear at this point what impact the floods could have on crawfish farms.
Two hours into his visit at the disaster relief center Monday, Brandon Wiley was at his thir…
What's worse is that severe flooding that took place across North Louisiana in March is already expected to cost the industry $90 million, said Kurt Guidry, an LSU AgCenter economist. The two flood events, in addition to low commodity prices this year, means Louisiana farmers and local economies reliant on farmers are likely to take a painful financial blow.
"This is going to be one of the largest agriculture losses we have sustained," said State Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain. "We have flooding all the way from the Florida parishes to the west side of the state and as far north as central Louisiana."
Guidry said the flooding had all of the punch of a hurricane, without the wind. But he said the event, while catastrophic, won't have the same toll on the agriculture industry that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita had, which exceeded $1 billion in losses to farmers that year.
But he said the timing of this flood is particularly harmful because many farmers were preparing to harvest crops. In March, when flooding hit the northern parishes in the state, it was early enough in the growing season that whole yields of crops weren't totally ruined, because farmers had time to replant.
Most of the state's first crop of rice has been harvested, but Guidry estimated that flooding could hurt the 20 percent still in the fields, while water logged conditions could hinder the opportunity for a second crop.
"For a lot of producers, second-crop is where they make their profit margins," Guidry said.
Ray Schexnayder, a farmer with land in Pointe Coupee and West Baton Rouge parishes, said he expects about one-third of his corn plants are damaged, and likely 70 percent of soy beans have been hurt.
He and his two brothers have about 2,500 acres of farm land.
Schexnayder said what's particularly damaging right now is that there's still standing water – as high as a foot tall – around some areas of his land.
"Our beans are just sitting in water, it's taking so long for the water to recede," he said. "There's going to be really bad damage on those fields, it could be a zero yield."
Schexnayder said it's likely the loss of product will mean he and his brothers have to seek financing next year to get by.
"It's going to be another one of those surviving years, not a money-making year," he said. "It has the potential of being pretty bad."
Guidry said the weather over the next few days will be make-or-break for farmers. If it continues to rain, it only worsens the chance for crops to be salvaged.
LSU AgCenter predicted that the state's soybean crop sustained the most damage, with an estimated $46 million in yield loss projected.
The rice industry is expected to take a $33 million hit. And at least $3 million worth of sugarcane will have to be replanted.
Corn farms were not severely damaged, but wet conditions have delayed harvest which can cause plants to fall over and grains to sprout, which cost them about $10 million.
The AgCenter did not yet have a count for livestock deaths from the flood, but loss of pasture resources for the animals will cost farmers nearly $2 million.
During the March floods, about 600 cattle were lost, which Guidry expected to be the upper limit of how many could be lost from the most recent weather event.
But he said there are reports of some live stock getting sick from drinking polluted flood waters, which could continue to drive the numbers up.
