Hurricane Francine has some farmers bracing for the worst.
USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey says that states like Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi should be aware of Francine’s risk.
“Like pretty much any other unharvested summer crop that is drying down, too much moisture can be detrimental to the crop. We see that with rice, with soybeans, and to a lesser degree corn, which is a little bit more resilient. If you put too much moisture on that grain or that oil seed, especially when it’s still, in the case of soybeans, within the pod you can get degradations in quality of what’s left in the field,” Rippey explains. “Those hot, hot, humid, wet conditions can lead to, in extreme cases, sprouting of the crops as it remains on the plan, and in less severe cases you can get mold or rotting.”
Rippey says that cotton is especially at risk this late in the season.
“The majority of cotton bolls are open across the region. There’s not much producers can do about that. That crop is open, highly vulnerable to wind and rain. We may lose some cotton if everything plays out like we think it will with this storm,” he adds.
USDA’s latest crop progress shows cotton is only 18% harvested in Texas, 2% harvested in Louisiana, and has yet to begin in Mississippi.
