Bryce Zaunbrecher of Lake Arthur harvests his 2008 crop. (Photo by Bruce Schultz)

Many Louisiana rice farmers may look back on 2008 as the year when everything could have converged into an excellent crop, maybe even a record-setting harvest.

But hurricane wind and water changed that, first with Gustav on Sept. 1 and then Ike on Sept. 13. Despite the storms, for many farmers the year still resulted in a good crop.

Keith Fontenot, LSU AgCenter county agent in Evangeline Parish, said farmers in his area did surprisingly well, probably setting a parishwide yield record exceeding 40 barrels (64.8 hundredweight) per acre.

Some producers even topped 60 barrels (97.2 hundredweight), he said.

But farmers who didn’t have their rice cut before the hurricanes had dismal harvests. "The 10 percent or less still in the field was affected brutally," Fontenot said.

Much of the rice was submerged or shattered.

At the same time, the crop was the most expensive ever, as urea fertilizer topped $900 per ton and diesel exceeded $4 per gallon.

Fontenot said declining fuel and fertilizer prices in the fall could mean farmers might plant more in 2009, but he expects Evangeline Parish acreage to remain the same next year. The Farm Services Administration reported 44,217 rice acres in Evangeline Parish in 2008.

Barrett Courville, LSU AgCenter county agent in Acadia Parish, said he expects Acadia Parish rice acreage to drop in 2009. According to the FSA, Acadia Parish led the state with 83,737 acres in 2008.

Courville said high input costs could persuade farmers to reduce rice acreage and opt for soybeans.

"It’s wait-and-see how much the costs will be," he said.

Most Acadia Parish farmers had their rice harvested by the time the storms hit, he said, resulting in an average harvest in the low 40 barrels (65 hundredweight) per acre.

The effect on the second crop varied, Courville said.

"It probably depended on the stage of the crop when the storm came."

When the second-crop harvest started, Courville said, he was hearing reports of yields ranging from seven barrels (11.3 hundredweight) to 23 barrels (37.2 hundredweight); however, most yields were on the lower end of that range.

Eddie Eskew, LSU AgCenter county agent in Jefferson Davis Parish, said a cold, wet spring delayed the crop’s progress. Although the rice seemed to be doing well as summer wore on, farmers were reminded once again that a crop is not made until it’s in the bins.

"The high expectations we had throughout the season didn’t materialize," he said.

Yields were not off terribly, Eskew said, but they didn’t come close to the record yields of 2007. Most farmers had yields ranging from 38 to 45 barrels (61.5 hundredweight to 72.9 hundredweight), he said.

The second crop was disappointing, and Eskew blamed that on the storms. Most ratoon yields were in the 5- to 6-barrel (8.0-to-9.7 hundredweight) range, with some in double digits.

Eskew said he is optimistic farmers are getting ready to plant next year. He said by the fall he had heard of farmers arranging crop loans.

Stuart Gauthier, LSU AgCenter county agent in Vermilion Parish, said some farmers in his area were dealing with the saltwater flooding from Hurricane Ike.

"A lot of this water that stayed in the fields has evaporated and left the salt behind," Gauthier said.

Soil samples in the southern end of the parish showed salt levels as high as 8,000 to 12,000 parts per million, Gauthier said, and rain is needed to flush out the contamination.

He said the year started with optimism, but a cold April and late-season diseases hurt the crop. Heavy rains during pollination also did damage, he said.

Some who rushed to get their first crop out of the field ahead of the storms rutted their fields badly, and that probably affected the second crop, he said.

Gauthier said the first crop was probably an average of less than 40 barrels (64.8 hundredweight) per acre parishwide, slightly less than last year.

"The second crop is pretty poor, probably 10 barrels (1.6 hundredweight) or less," he said. "The storms beat up the rice more than they expected."

He expects the Vermilion Parish rice acreage, at 61,788 acres in 2008, to drop in 2009 because of the salty fields that may not support a crop. A similar decline occurred after Hurrican

Louisiana rice farmers grew rice on 468,000 acres in 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture – an increase from the 2007 crop of more than 100,000 acres. (Photo by Bruce Schultz)

e Rita in 2005.

Gauthier said Hurricane Rita also ruined a considerable amount of equipment, but that didn’t happen this time.

Dr. Steve Linscombe, LSU AgCenter rice breeder and director of the Rice Research Station, said the second-crop damage could have been worse if the panicles had been full when the hurricanes hit.

"It seems like the second crop took forever to ripen," he said.

He said the second-crop yields ranged from terrible to fair. "For most people, it’s not too good," Linscombe stressed.

Linscombe said the overall hurricane damage to the first crop wasn’t as bad as originally feared. While some farmers had extensive damage, others were able to make more of a crop than they had expected.

Linscombe also said he was surprised by the total acreage, set at 468,000 by the FSA, about 10 percent more than he expected.

Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, said he thought earlier in the year that the 2008 crop would set a yield record. "I thought this year we would have broken it by a couple of hundred pounds," he said.

Saichuk said the verification field in Vermilion Parish yielded 60 barrels (97.2 hundredweight) dry. That field was farmed by Durel Romaine.

Romaine said he was cutting 55 barrels per acre (89.1 hundredweight) on another field before Hurricane Ike, but by the time he was able to return to the field after the storm, that figure dropped to 38 barrels (61.5 hundredweight).

He said his second-crop yield was probably affected by the storms, but he wasn’t sure of the extent of the loss. He decided against even trying to harvest a second crop on a 125-acre field.

Saichuk said he doesn’t expect overall rice acreage to decrease in 2009. "Most farmers said rice took the beating of the storms better than any other crop," he said.

Farmer Blue Zaunbrecher of Lake Arthur said he expects to plant the same amount of rice next year, and he said his neighbors expect to maintain their current acreage.

Zaunbrecher said he expected his 2008 crop to yield better. "I didn’t expect the price to drop as much as it did," he said. "At least the price of fuel has come down."

North Louisiana rice fields also were hurt by hurricane damage, mostly from Hurricane Gustav after it came ashore Sept. 1.

Keith Collins, LSU AgCenter county agent in Richland Parish, said North Louisiana rice losses were significant but not as bad as it seemed the first days after Gustav.

"It looks like when it’s all said and done we’ll have a 30 percent loss," he said.