Louisiana’s crawfish industry, a vital part of the state’s agricultural landscape and cultural heritage, is in turmoil in 2024.
The industry, already grappling with the aftermath of a severe drought in 2023, has been further devastated by a recent freeze, leading to widespread concerns among farmers and lawmakers about the future of this iconic industry.
In a letter to United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La. underscored the gravity of the situation.
“The 2023 drought has led to an alarming decrease in crawfish production across approximately 45,000 acres of ponds,” Higgins wrote. “This has been compounded by a recent freeze event, worsening challenges faced by our farmers.”
The LSU AgCenter estimated potential losses to be nearly $140 million due to the combined effects of the drought and freeze, representing a substantial portion of the state’s $230 million crawfish industry.
The crisis facing the crawfish industry is part of a broader challenge affecting Louisiana’s agricultural sector.
“That was a component of a $1.7 billion economic impact to all of Agriculture and Forestry,” said Kurt Guidry, an economist at the LSU AgCenter.
Guidry said the excessive heat and drought conditions in 2023 impacted approximately 30% of the agricultural industry, with crawfish producers among the hardest hit.
The interconnectedness of agriculture in Louisiana means that the challenges crawfish farmers face also reverberate through other sectors, further emphasizing the need for swift and comprehensive support. For example, many crawfish farmers are also rice farmers and may suffer double losses, as they rely on crawfish revenue to offset their operational costs, Guidry said.
In West Baton Rouge Parish, a designated disaster area, crawfish producers are eligible for emergency assistance. However, there are challenges in proving production losses due to the unique nature of crawfish harvesting.
“Producers within West Baton Rouge Parish also have eligibility requirements. They have to prove, through production records, that they had a certain level of production loss. Because we don’t harvest crawfish just once, but multiple times over about a five or six month period, determining how to prove that production loss is not as straightforward as for other crops,” Guidry said.
Unlike other crops, where production loss can be easily calculated after a single harvest, crawfish farmers must wait until the end of the normal production season to determine if they have had a production loss. This complexity adds to the challenges faced by crawfish producers in accessing emergency assistance and highlights the need for a more nuanced approach to supporting the industry.
“The 2023 drought has had a devastating impact on our crawfish farmers, leading to significant production losses,” Higgins wrote.
Higgins highlighted the need for changes to the current Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program criteria, which currently do not include drought conditions. He argued that updating the criteria to include drought would provide much-needed assistance to Louisiana’s farmers.
Producers in Acadia, Jefferson Davis and Vermillion parishes are experiencing a significant decline in crawfish prices. Earlier in the season, prices were as high as $7 to $8 per pound. However, due to a combination of factors, including increased production and limited consumer demand at such high prices, producers have been forced to reduce prices to around $5.50 per pound in a short period, Guidry said.
The crawfish industry plays a significant role in Louisiana’s cultural identity and tourism. A decline in crawfish production can lead to fewer cultural events centered around crawfish, such as crawfish boils and festivals, which can, in turn, impact tourism and hospitality industries.
If the cascading effects of an ailing crawfish industry aren’t mitigated quickly, Louisiana’s economy and the long-term sustainability of its agricultural sector could be seriously threatened.
