Micah Loewers was dredging through his rice field when he looked back and yelled, "over here, Lola!"
A few yards behind him, a golden retriever popped her head out of the rice field to find her best friend. The grass was taller than Lola- she had to hop to get her bearings.
Loewers is a fourth-generation rice farmer in Acadia Parish. This year however, is the first time he's personally invested in the family farm.
"This is the lowest it's been in probably three or four years," Loewers said of rice prices.
Farmers had a spectacular season last year- selling rice at more than 25-dollars per bushel.
This year, experts forecast a similar yield- but those who bought-in, first-time investors like Loewers, took a hit.
"When the times are good, you put it away," Loewers said. "When the times are bad, you put it away for worse times."
This is one of those bad-times.
Due to the booming season last year, farmers across the country invested in rice- inflating the supply.
Luckily for Loewers, he can rely on other crops like soy (which is selling well) to break even.
However, farmers in coastal parishes have a bigger problem.
"In Jeff Davis Parish, if the yields continue the way they are, they're going to have trouble paying off the loans for this year," says Barrett Courville of the LSU AgCenter.
The coastal parishes like Vermilion and Jefferson Davis can't grow many other crops. They rely on rice.
"This could be the final straw," Johnny Saichuk said.
Saichuk works in Acadia Parish for the LSU AgCenter- monitoring the rice production. He says Acadia can fall-back on a variety of crops. Other parishes don't have that luxury.
On top of the poor rice harvest, every parish is suffering a bigger pandemic- the lack of farmers.
"The average farmer now in the US is 57," Saichuk said. "It's hard to find young farmers who are willing to get into this business because of the risk and the hard work and lower profitability."
Loewers is the rare exception. He says it may be a tough year for the rice farmer, but he's sticking to the family business.
"My family's done it for years and years and my dad's done it for forty years plus," Loewers said. "I'm not looking to get rich but if I have that longevity, I'll be more than happy."
Permalink | Comments