TIGERTV ONLINE REPORTER
Frequent rain has slowed harvest for sweet potato crops this year, but officials are optimistic and feel that losses will not be significant.
“We know that we will have some crop loss, but we are cautiously optimistic that the majority of the crop will be harvested once conditions improve,” Dr. Tara Smith, a sweet potato specialist for LSU AgCenter said. “The forecast for next week is positive and producers should have opportunity to get back in the fields and assess the situation by mid-week next week.”
Smith said northern Louisiana has received 10 to 20 or more inches of rain since September 10, 2009. The rain itself is not the problem, but prolonged wet conditions don’t create an ideal environment for the roots.
“A single rain event would have been better than several successive rains,” Smith said. “We haven’t had adequate drying time to get in and harvest, thus the harvest is delayed.”
The only thing that can be done is to wait for field conditions to improve so harvest can be resumed and producers can evaluate the crop. The losses cannot be made up. So far the extent of the damage and loss to sweet potato crops is unknown.
“Until we resume harvest, it is hard to say how extensive the damage will be,” Smith said. “Any crop loss this year is not good, especially given the extent of crop losses last year and the financial strain that the majority of the industry is under.”
Last year growing conditions were not only affected by wet weather, but two hurricanes as well. Input costs for farmers were higher because of high fuel and fertilizer prices during 2008, according to the 2008 Sweet Potato Research Verification Program’s Economic Analysis Report.
Farmers will be affected most by any crop losses because the lost revenue will cut into their profits and some might not even make up all their production costs. Smith said producers need a good crop this year to get back on solid ground.
But farmers might not be the only ones suffering the affects of any losses. Smith said consumers might also be affected over time depending on the extent of crop loss in Louisiana and other producing states.
“Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas have also been affected by the recent rains and their crops will too be compromised,” Smith said.
However, prices are likely to be set for the Thanksgiving packing season. As the marketing year progresses, the supply left in all sweet potato producing states, including Louisiana, will determine the price, Smith said.
Smith has some concerns for crops this year.
“I am worried that some sweet potato producers across the southeast will suffer financially due to not harvesting a percentage of their crop this year,” Smith said.
But there is still hope for the future of sweet potato crops.
“Yields and quality from this point forward will be determined by the weather conditions and the ability of producers to get their crop out of the fields,” Smith said. “I am optimistic that we will resume harvest in many locations and that a large percentage of the crop will still be in good condition.”
