Drought, excessive heat cost $1.69B to La. Ag, forestry

By Rebecca Chaisson on Friday, December 1, 2023
  • Young pine trees sport dead, brown needles and charred bark in a forest along Lonzie Doyle Road near the Westport community in Rapides Parish on Sept. 5, 2023. This forest burned in the Highway 113 Fire, which damaged about 8,000 acres. (Photo by Olivia McClure/LSU AgCenter)
    Young pine trees sport dead, brown needles and charred bark in a forest along Lonzie Doyle Road near the Westport community in Rapides Parish on Sept. 5, 2023. This forest burned in the Highway 113 Fire, which damaged about 8,000 acres. (Photo by Olivia McClure/LSU AgCenter)

    Louisiana agriculture and forestry suffered $1.69 billion in damage due to this summer’s drought and excessive heat, according to preliminary estimates by LSU AgCenter experts. Long stretches of record-high temperatures and little to no rain led to yield and quality losses and increased production costs for farmers of row crops as well as fruits, nuts and vegetables. Livestock producers dealt wi…