La. crops: Preliminary Isaac damage estimate $100M

LSU AgCenter economist Kurt Guidry says good weather over the next several weeks could do a lot to reduce a preliminary estimate of $100 million in crop damage from Hurricane Isaac.

He says the preliminary figure is less than damage from last year's drought.

Some farmers lost all of some crops. Guidry says about 250 acres of vegetables were reported as a total loss, and losses were high on another 50 acres or so. But 7,000 to 8,000 acres of vegetables were unharmed.

The biggest total losses are in sugarcane, one of Louisiana's biggest crops. About 380,000 acres — 90 percent of the total planted — were damaged. Although the estimated percentage loss from pre-storm value was 7 percent, that works out to nearly $60 million.