Rainy harvest devastates Louisiana soybeans for 2nd year

BATON ROUGE, La. – A Louisiana congressman says the trade disputes with China are hurting the state’s soybean farmers at a time when rain during harvest season has also hit them badly. U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham is asking the federal government for help.

Abraham says many soybean shipments are coming down the Mississippi River instead of going to the West Coast, filling storage silos and leaving little space for Louisiana’s big but damaged crop.

Soybeans were a big target of tariffs imposed by China in response to those imposed by the Trump administration.

An LSU AgCenter soybean specialist says this is the second straight year that a rainy stretch during harvest season has devastated Louisiana soybeans. Todd Spivey says rains in late September kept farmers from harvesting ripe soybeans, which are now badly damaged.