Katrina Coverage

Some examples according to either the AP or LSU AgCenter economist Kirk Guidry:
- 10,000 to 11,000 head of cattle south of Lake Pontchartrain are dead or missing, particularly in the flooded-out parishes of St. Bernard and Plaquemines...
- Many dairies in St. Tammany, Washington, Tangipahoa and St. Helena parishes - the heart of Louisiana's milk-producing industry - have had to dump milk because of a lack of power and cooling facilities.
- cotton damage "relatively minor", but "a lot of cane was knocked down or bent over"
- In commercial forest areas of Washington and Tangipahoa parishes, up to 75 percent of the timber is either down or bent, immediately reducing its market value, Guidry said. Some of the timber can be salvaged for other, lower-priced uses such as pulp, but there is a limited time available to do even that.
- the Christmas tree growing industry of southeastern Louisiana, producers are facing losses from knocked down trees. Up to half of the crop could be lost because of root system damage, while those trees that have been put back up with stakes likely will grow crooked, reducing their retail value...