How Have Recent Weather Patterns Affected Acadiana Agriculture?

It's sunny one minute, then the next minute, we are seeing a torrential downpour.

Our South Louisiana weather patterns can be, at times, unpredictable. Those rains may affect our daily plans and our school and work commutes, but what does it mean for our Acadiana farmers?

LSU/SU AgCenter Extension Agents Blair Hebert, in Iberia Parish and Stan Dutile, in Lafayette Parish, explain how the last year's weather swings have affected several local agriculture industries.

Hebert recounted how rains that reached Acadiana from Hurricane Harvey has had a lasting effects on the sugarcane crop that will be harvested in the fall and winter.

Soybeans, that were planted just a few months ago, appear to be on an average growth pace, Hebert said, except for those that were planted in drier fields during our unusually dry spring.

Dutile, a local livestock specialist said local cattle producers have to contend with terrible conditions for grazing their herds. The dry spring created poor growing conditions for grasses. Cattlemen have had to resort to feed and hay to feed their herds, but Hebert said last fall's rain events delayed hay harvest making for hay that was plentiful, but lacking adequate nutrients.

Click the attached links to hear what both Hebert and Dutile project for our local ag industries.