Soybeans in Central Louisiana Look Good Right Now

By Don Molino, The Voice of Louisiana Agriculture Radio Network

St. Landry Parish farmer Ike Hamilton is a former chairman of the United Soybean Board.

He reports the soybeans that were planted in April on his farm in south central Louisiana before all the rains came in look pretty good for this time of year.

“We are starting to see some aerial blight and some insects in the early beans,” says Hamilton. “The later planted beans that went into the ground around the first of May looked like they were a little slow coming out of the ground, but we’ve ended up with a pretty good stand.”

“We were very, very fortunate that we only had to re-planed about 20 acres” due to the excessive rainfall, said Hamilton.

“I think we have the potential for a good soybean crop but really it’s all going to depend on the weather from here  on out.  We need a few dry days but without a whole lot of heat,” Hamilton said.

As far as his corn crop is concerned, Hamilton says it’s pretty close to being done for another season.

“We have a little southern rust in places, but I don’t think it’s going to affect yields. So I’m looking for a pretty good crop of corn this year,” Hamilton reports.