Narrative: e. 1.

A.    Assessment Of Agricultural Activity Within The State

In 2018 (the latest year for which information is available); Louisiana agricultural and forestry production contributed $11.7 billion to the State’s economy, still the total dollar value was affected by lower prices for many crops.

The following quotation provides a summary of 2018 production levels:

Despite any difficulty producers may have experienced individually in the year, collectively producers enjoyed record or near record yields for the third year in a row, but mixed prices for the state’s agricultural commodities. This resulted in total gross farm gate value for the agricultural industry being $11.7 billion in 2018.

The gross farm value of all plant enterprises was more than $3.74 billion in 2017, an increase of 9.2% from $3.43 billion in 2016. Value added was $3.80 billion for all plant commodities for during 2017, up from $3.55 billion in 2016. Total value of all plant or crop enterprises to the Louisiana economy was $7.54 billion in 2017, up 8% from $6.98 billion in 2016.

Louisiana has long been recognized for supporting one of the most diverse aquaculture industries in the United States. Species and products such as crawfish, catfish, alligators, oysters, tilapia, baitfish, soft-shelled crawfish and crabs, ornamental fish, baby turtles, a variety of freshwater game fish, and other minor species all have been commercialized successfully. Louisiana producers continue to be among the leaders in the nation in crawfish, oyster, pet turtle and alligator sales.

Total farm value of all fisheries and wildlife enterprises during 2018 was $859.5 million, down 2.9% from $885.4 million in 2017. Valued added in 2018 was $567.9 million, down slightly from $585.2 million the preceding year. Total value of all fisheries and wildlife enterprises to the Louisiana economy for 2018 was $1.43 billion, down marginally from the $1.47 in 2016.

Gross farm income for all animal enterprises was over $1.82 billion for 2018, up 5.5% from $1.73 in 2017. Value added was nearly $1.15 billion for 2018, up from $1.03 million in 2017. Total value of all animal enterprises in the Louisiana economy was $2.97 billion, up 7.9% from $2.75 billion in 2017.

As indicated below, in 2018, agricultural employers placed job orders with LWC relative to the following selected crops.

 Source:  LSU AgCenter

Sugarcane:

In 2018, sugarcane was grown on 459,217 acres in 25 Louisiana parishes. Harvested acres were 429,368 after accounting for seed-cane acreage. The 11 operating raw sugar factories in the state processed nearly 16,867,669 tons of cane. In total, the 11 factories produced 1.84 million short tons of sugar (96 pol). The average field yield of cane on harvested acres was 39.3 tons per acre. The average sugar recovery was the second best on record at 218 pounds of sugar (96 pol) per ton of cane. The yield of commercially recoverable sugar produced per acre averaged 8,577 pounds. Although the pricing period is not complete for the 2018 crop, the projected average price for raw sugar was estimated at 26 cents per pound. The molasses price was projected to average $97 per short ton at 79.5 °Brix.

The gross farm value of the 2018 sugarcane crop was $600.1 million for sugar and molasses. The gross farm value reported above represents 60% of the value of the sugar and 50% of the value of molasses produced. The remaining percentages are for raw sugar processing, which amounted to $408.6 million. Therefore, the total value of the sugarcane crop to Louisiana producers, processors and landlords at the first processing level was $1.009 billion.

Soybeans:

In 2018, 1.3 million acres of soybean were planted by 2,254 producers. However, only 1.1 million acres were harvested because of inclement weather. While planted acreage and numbers of producers were similar to that in 2017, harvested acres were 121,369 lower in 2018. Despite inclement weather at harvest, the statewide average yield was 55.7 bushels per acre, compared to 53.5 in 2017. Gross farm value for 2018 was $606.1 million, down $73.2 million from 2017.

The 2018 season got off to a good start, but dry conditions slowed planting. Insect and disease pressure were low during the year, but persistent late-season rains prevent producers from harvesting 147,777 acres. Seed quality and yields were negatively impacted in fields that were harvested after being subjected to extended periods of inclement weather.

Rice:

 Louisiana planted more than 436,000 acres in 2018. Planting was spread out more evenly than normal from the period beginning in late February through March, mainly because of wet soil conditions caused by frequent, but not excessive, rainfall. The Rice Variety by Parish Survey conducted annually by extension agents indicated that Louisiana planted approximately 89% long grain, 10% medium grain and 1% special purpose rice varieties. The top planted rice varieties and hybrids included CL153 (19.5%), CL111 (14%), Cheniere (11.9%), Mermentau (10.5%), CLXL745 (9.7%), Jupiter (5.8%) and XP753 (4.9%). Clearfield seed technology in both inbred and hybrid rice varieties made up approximately 59% of the acres. The new Provisia herbicide technology was available for the first time in 2018 in a variety named PVL01, and it was planted on approximately 10,000 acres, or 2.3%, of the total acreage.

In 2018, the statewide rice average yield was 7,211 pounds per acre (42.2 barrels or 152 bushels per acre), up from 6,840 in 2017. A total of 31.45 million hundredweight of rice was produced on 436,130 harvested acres in 2018. The gross farm value in 2018 for rice produced was $379.6 million in 2018, up from $297.6 million in 2017. When value-added activities of $126.4 million are considered, the total economic impact of the rice industry was $506 million in 2018, up from $327.7 million in 2017.

Crawfish:

 Farm-raised crawfish continued to be the state’s most valuable aquaculture sector in 2018, representing roughly 52% of the total gross farm value generated across all commercial aquaculture enterprises. Growth in demand, both within the state and regionally, has created increasing incentive for expansion of acreage and production over the last several years. Crawfish production has increasingly been incorporated into other farming operations in recent years as producers look to offset struggling rice markets. Estimates from the field in 2018 indicated farm-raised crawfish production occupied a record 237,234 acres, up 6.6% from the previous year. Total production was up almost 20% from the previous year at 151.8 million pounds, and gross farm value for farmed crawfish was $209 million, representing an all-time high.

Plant Nurseries:

 The commercial nursery industry in Louisiana consists of fruit and nut tree nursery stock production, foliage plants, woody ornamentals (trees and shrubs) and floriculture/bedding plants. Commercial nursery crop production in Louisiana had a gross farm value of $110.3 million in 2018, compared to $107.1 million in 2017. Wholesale nursery sales in Louisiana have improved over the past several years. Increases in demand were experienced in 2017 as consumers began to replant in response to plant loss caused by two major floods and an extremely rainy growing season in 2016. A continuation of that demand, along with improvements experienced in the overall economy have led to strong demand again in 2018.

Wholesale production was $6.33 million for the growers of fruit and nut tree nursery stock in 2018. This category consists of citrus, blueberries and figs, among others. Bedding plant and floriculture crop production was $41.77 million in farm gate sales in 2018. The largest segment of the nursery industry continues to be woody ornamentals, primarily trees and shrubs. At the wholesale level, woody ornamental growers sold products worth $59.20 million during 2018. Wholesale production of foliage plants increased somewhat from 2017 and accounted for $3.05 million in sales in 2018. Including value-added activity of $60.69 million, the total value of the Louisiana nursery industry at the wholesale level was $171.02 million in 2018.

Strawberries:

In 2018, the Louisiana strawberry industry involved 47 commercial growers who produced berries on 218 acres for a gross farm value of $8.74 million. While average prices were up slightly in 2018, lower acreage, lower yields and lower production all helped to generate a gross from value that was nearly $5 million lower in 2018. Tangipahoa Parish continues to be the leading strawberry producing parish, with 73% of the total acres in the state and accounting for 78% of the state’s total gross farm value.

The majority of the Louisiana strawberries were sold commercially. Growers delivered berries to grocery store warehouses, individual grocery stores and fruit stands. The remaining portion of the crop was sold at farmer’s markets and roadside stands. Louisiana strawberries are generally available as early as November, December and January. These early berries often bring premium prices and play a large part in the high returns for the crop in Louisiana.

Sweet Potatoes:

Louisiana sweet potato acreage decreased slightly in 2018. Producers harvested 7,682 acres in 2018, compared to 9,194 acres in 2017. Prior to 2018, Louisiana acreage had remained steady, in the 9,000-acre range. Louisiana remains fourth in sweet potato production acreage in the United States behind North Carolina, Mississippi and California.

Louisiana’s total gross farm gate value for sweet potatoes in 2018 is estimated at 53.99 million, compared to $52.90 in 2017. Total value of sweet potato production, including value added of $40.49 million, was $94.48 million.