USA - Agencies tackle high volume of ag damage assessments
28.06.2021 709 views
MSU Extension agents will be assessing agricultural damage from early-June flooding until well into July, but preliminary estimates indicate losses could break records.
The 2019 Yazoo Backwater Area flood caused $617 million in crop damage alone. It looks like the more recent flood will exceed those losses.
Heavy rainfall, primarily north of U.S. Highway 82, throughout the second week of June waterlogged crops during critical growth stages. Flooding caused complete or partial losses in many fields.
Rainfall totals for that week were as high as 20 inches in some areas. In the aftermath, many producers requested damage assessments through the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. MSU Extension agents conduct these evaluations in concert with MEMA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency to record all disaster-related agricultural damages, including crops, equipment, structures and livestock.
MSU Extension Emergency Coordinating Officer Preston Aust helps organize teams to make the assessments. Many of the assessments done so far are in the north Delta. Tunica and Quitman counties each sustained roughly $100 million in total agricultural damages, while Tallahatchie County suffered around $70 million. Assessments have been conducted in more than a dozen counties so far.
“By the time we were ready to respond to early requests for assessments, the rainwater was receding off of the land, so the growers were scrambling to either salvage what they still had or gear up for replanting,” Aust said. “We’ve made a lot of progress in several counties, while there are others where we are trying to work around the growers’ schedules.
“Bolivar, Coahoma and Sunflower counties are among others with extensive damage that we haven’t made it to yet,” he said.
MSU Extension grain specialist Erick Larson discussed the extent of flood damage to corn in a June 23 episode of the Mississippi Crop Situation podcast. This flood, he said, was unprecedented for corn growers.
“The thing that is unique about this flood event is that it occurred during the middle of the season when the crop was very well developed,” Larson said. “A lot of our inputs had gone into the crop. Now, we are to the point where we have got everything from corn plants and large sections of flooded corn that are literally dying to some corn that was temporarily flooded or exposed to heavy rainfall. Now, we are trying to decide whether or not we need to do some different things regarding management in order to maximize this current crop and finish it out.”
Trent Irby, MSU Extension soybean specialist, said that, while soybeans can survive under water for a short time, there were some whole fields or lower areas in other fields that were submerged too long for plants to survive.
“In scenarios where there is a total loss, we have the option to replant fully. The thing to keep in mind is the drastic reduction in yield potential we see from a complete replant, but we may not have a choice,” Irby said. “We have other areas where we may have to decide between keeping part of a field and replanting another part of a field or just keeping it all, depending on the population.
“In each field being managed with furrow management schemes, it is nearly impossible to manage two crops in the same field from an irrigation standpoint,” he said. “We’ll have other fields that may weather the storm, depending how long those beans stayed under water.”
Mississippi’s cotton crop will also be affected by the flooding, but heat unit accumulation has been down for the entire year, meaning the crop was already behind schedule in terms of growth.
“Submerged cotton plants can take it on the chin when water gets on them,” said MSU Extension cotton specialist Brian Pieralisi. “There are concerns, but I’m hoping if they were not totally submerged, we’ll be OK. There are some spots that are drowned out. We’re likely to see some scenarios where there could be a loss.”
Because of the timing of the flooding in 2019, growers in the south Delta did not get a crop in the ground that year, Aust said.
“This scenario could be monetarily more devastating for growers who had tasseling corn that was 60 days away from its endpoint,” he said.
MSU Extension Associate Director Steve Martin said county Extension coordinators, specialists and agents work in a variety of ways to help farmers cope with these types of scenarios.
“Our ability to assist with assessing agricultural damages from flooding and other weather-related events professionally is because of the deep trust MSU Extension has built with farmers throughout the state over years of service to clients and stakeholders,” Martin said.
Source - https://www.picayuneitem.com
EVENTS
ScaleAgData Stakeholder Engagement Event
22.10.2024The ScaleAgData project is pleased to invite you to our second stakeholder event. Building on the discussions and connections formed during our first webinar, this event will focus on fostering collaboration among stakeholders, providing updates on our project’s progress, and outlining future opportunities for engagement.
RISK EVENTS
Moldova - May frosts caused heavy damage to fruit orchards
10.05.2026The first frosty nights of May have significantly worsened estimates of damage to Moldova's fruit sector from spring frosts. According to initial assessments by fruit market operators, between a quarter and a third of the country's total orchard area was seriously affected.
22.10.2026
USA - Cotton Producers Face New ARC PLC Decision Deadline
The special provision giving producers the higher of ARC or PLC for 2025 will not continue next year.
22.10.2026
Pakistan - Punjab unveils £300,000 climate-resilient agriculture project for Cholistan and Thal
The Government of Punjab announced a 300,000-pound pilot project to establish climate-resilient agriculture across arid desert regions. The 12-month targeted initiative specifically focuses on farming communities operating within the vulnerable Cholistan and Thal desert ecosystems.
22.10.2026
Cambodia looks into insurance scheme for agricultural cooperatives
Cambodia's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) is looking into a disaster-related insurance scheme designed for modern agricultural cooperatives.
22.10.2026
USA - Dec. 1 deadline set for 2027 pasture and forage insurance
Northeast farmers have until Dec. 1 to secure Pasture, Rangeland and Forage insurance coverage for the 2027 crop year, according to Crop Growers.
22.10.2026
Spring frost hits Polish apple varieties unevenly
Spring frosts have affected Polish apple varieties differently this season, with some performing better than initially expected and others facing substantial losses.
22.10.2026
Spain - Flooded fields in Valencia and Alicante and 130 hectares of greenhouses affected in Almería
The arrival of storm Adam on the Mediterranean coast has brought heavy rainfall that has hit the Valencia region hardest, particularly the coastlines of the provinces of Valencia and Alicante, though the inclement weather has also hit other regions including Andalusia, Catalonia, and the Balearic Islands.
21.10.2026
India - Government launches Pashudhan Bima Portal to streamline livestock insurance, claims and monitoring
The Government today launched Pashudhan Bima Portal in New Delhi. The Portal will provide a single, integrated digital platform for livestock insurance, enabling streamlined policy issuance, claim processing, monitoring and reporting in case of animals insured under the Livestock Insurance Scheme of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
21.10.2026
Malaysia - Perak Perhilitan monitoring elephant herd after crop destruction complaints
The Perak Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) has received six official complaints this year from oil palm smallholders in Kampung Perlop 1, Sungai Siput, over wild elephants destroying crops and plantation infrastructure.
