Published: September 04, 2008 11:00 pm      

Mississippi Farmers assess fields after Gustav

JACKSON (AP) — Soybean farmers who missed ideal planting times and boldly decided to risk their crop in Mississippi’s blistering summer sun have been rewarded with a wet August and heavy rains from Hurricane Gustav.

The soybean fields are now moist, the temperatures are down, and farmers across the state are thankful that Gustav did not pack enough punch to severely damage their crops. The storm blew ashore Monday in Louisiana, about 70 miles west of New Orleans.

Heavy rains from the hurricane, coupled with the unusual amount of moisture that fell in August across Mississippi, are ideal for farmers who missed normal planting times when more than a million acres of Delta farmland flooded in April, agriculture officials said.

‘‘It’s kind of like a stab in the dark. You plant late when commodity prices are good and say I’m taking a risk,’’ said Warren County Extension Service Director John Coccaro. ‘‘Wow, who would have guessed that we would have had such a wet August and go into September and some of the crops that were planted late that would have been suffering from heat are really smiling.’’

The state is at the end of corn and soybean seasons. Most of the state’s corn crop was harvested before the storm, and corn still in the fields was not significantly damaged by Gustav, officials said.

Jerry Singleton, farm extension agent for Leflore County, said some farmers in his area were busy harvesting right before Gustav’s arrival.

‘‘In fact, I just left a guy that had a small acreage of corn compared to what he has been growing and he got done just as the rain moved in,’’ Singleton said. ‘‘Normally, we are about 95 percent done with corn harvest this time of year. This year, we are only maybe half done.’’

Lester Stephens, extension agent for Washington County in the Delta, said even farmers who didn’t take the risk of planting late will be able to rebound from Gustav.

‘‘It did a little damage to our crops, but they just need to dry out and I think everybody will be able to go on through them. We do have some wind damage and water damage, but it will drain off,’’ Stephens said. ‘‘The sun will come out and the farmers will go to work.’’

The problems from Gustav pale in comparison to the destruction left by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. There was more than $2 billion in damage reported in the state after Katrina. No figures have been released for Gustav, but the total should be dramatically less.

‘‘Some of first words out of the farmers’ mouths are, ’This was nothing like Katrina,’’’ said Coccaro, whose county is on the Mississippi River near the Louisiana state line. ‘‘Katrina was pretty tough on the crops. So they are thankful.’’

Bill Maily, extension director for Franklin County, said Gustav certainly could have been worse. However, only 50 percent of the soybeans in his area of southwest Mississippi have been harvested.

‘‘We will just have to wait and see what kind of effect we have on the rest of them right now,’’ Maily said. ‘‘Most of the stalks are still upright at this point.’’

Coccaro said farmers who planted soybeans ‘‘on time’’ need to get back in the fields quickly.

‘‘I am a little bit concerned that some of those were right at being harvested prior to the storm hitting and add a lot of moisture, 85- to 90-degree heat, and a mature soybean pod, and those seeds within those pods won’t last in the field very long.’’



AP-CS-09-04-08 1750EDT