Hurricane Francine made landfall in the southeastern portion of Louisiana on September 11, 2024.Once making landfall, the storm moved in a northern/northeastern trajectory skirting the eastern edge of Louisiana. While the impacts of wind and rainfall were most significantly felt in the coastal parishes in the southcentral and southeastern portion of the state, much of the eastern half of the state experienced heavy rainfall. Wind, flooding, and excessive rainfall were all believed to have led to production reductions, quality losses, and increased costs.

To develop estimates of the economic impact of the Hurricane Francine, the LSU AgCenter conducted a detailed damage assessment. Working through parish based Agricultural and Natural Resource (ANR) agents and commodity specialists, data was collected on the acreage impacted, production losses, quality impacts, and increased production costs. Information collected through the assessment survey was then combined with publicly available data from the LSU AgCenter and the Farm Service Agency to develop estimates of reduced revenue and increased production costs.

The analysis conducted estimated the total economic impact associated with Hurricane Francine at approximately $55.3 million. Roughly 98 percent of this total was associated with soybeans and sugarcane. Excessive rainfall resulted in significant harvest delays for soybeans causing both yield loss and quality damage. In many cases, the yield loss and/or quality damage was so high that the soybeans were completely abandoned and not harvested. High winds and flooding led to lodged sugarcane and reduced production, particularly in the southeastern portion of the sugarcane production region of the state. In addition, excessive rainfall and flooding led to some sugarcane acres having to be replanted. Other commodities that were impacted were rice, cotton, and sweet potatoes but at significantly lower levels. Given the stage of production for these commodities along with the quick return to more favorable weather conditions after the storm are believed to have limited impacts for these commodities. In fact, the dry conditions that followed the storm are believed to have also limited the damage experienced for both soybeans and sugarcane. Had wet conditions persisted after the storm, additional yield and quality damage would have likely been seen throughout the soybean industry and additional yield losses and replanting costs would have likely been seen throughout the sugarcane industry.

It should be noted that while the estimates of economic impacts are relatively low, particularly compared to other storms or other weather-related events, it shouldn’t be interpreted as having minimal effects on the financial stability of the Louisiana agricultural industry. Impacts from Hurricane Francine come on the heels of an estimated $1.6 billion in impacts in 2023 from excessive drought and heat and $495 million in 2022 from excessive rainfall. The accumulative effect of three consecutive years of weather-related impacts coupled with depressed commodity prices leaves many operations within the agricultural industry in very precarious financial situations.