Arkansas ag: $650 million hit
Nov 11, 2009 10:45 AM, By David Bennett, Farm Press Editorial Staff
“USDA had projected a 131 million bushel soybean production for Arkansas. We looked at that and said, ‘Man, it sounds like with the damage and losses in production and everything, we could lose at least 25 percent of this year’s soybean crop.’”
An Arkansas Farm Bureau staff member recently took a trip to South Dakota. “He saw much the same there, in Iowa and northwest Missouri — everything at a standstill and major parts of crops are yet to be harvested.
“I visited with a staff member from the Georgia Farm Bureau yesterday. They went from having a major drought to flooding in Atlanta and concerns about getting peanut and cotton harvests. There are quality issues.”
Arkansas is “not alone in the boat. We may be a little worse off than other areas simply because we’re further behind in cotton harvest and there are rice issues that other states may not have.
“This is a major problem for our farmers. Our city cousins and everyone else need to be aware of it. … The farming economy has taken a hit and … it will ripple through communities and across the state.”
e-mail: dbennett@farmpress.com
