Producers in the Southeast had to deal with a second major hurricane in less than a week, which brought dozens of tornadoes, storm surges, and flooding. Meanwhile, a state in the Northwest grows its share of berries but gets much higher value with another crop. And more foreigners seem to have a taste for American-raised lamb.
Another Hurricane
The Southeast got pummeled with something that seems so unfair: another monster hurricane. This time it was Hurricane Milton bringing an unprecedented number of tornadoes along with it.
The Associated Press reported that there were 38 initial reports of tornadoes Wednesday night in Florida. The state averages about 50 per year. That demonstrates how bad this storm system was.
Some areas had nearly 18 inches of rain.
How much damage to agriculture will this hurricane add to the regional destruction that Hurricane Helene delivered six days earlier? It may be weeks before growers and producers know.
Milton was different as it unleashed its destruction through Florida, while Helene hit Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Helene’s worst damage hit the poultry industry. But pecans, berries, dairy production, cotton, corn, and soybeans could also suffer.
RELATED: American Farm Bureau tallied up potential damages from Hurricane Helene with estimates in the billions of dollars. Read that projection here.
Top Crop
No crop in Oregon produces a higher overall value than hay. USDA figures show that the state’s hay production has an annual value of $740,940,000. Potatoes bring the second-highest value with $309,256,000. Wheat is the third-highest crop in terms of dollars. The annual crop is worth $265,930,000.
RELATED: Oregon is not among the nation’s top hay-producing states. Here is the list.
Blueberries are the crop with the fourth-highest production in the state with $146,360,000. And hazelnuts finish out the top five with $127,170,000 in value.
RELATED: See the full list from the USDA on total production and overall value of production for Oregon’s crops here.
Loving Lamb
Beef and pork get bigger headlines. Chicken does, too. But it is lamb that has seen exports nearly triple from a year ago.
Exports are welcome for the industry. Americans don’t eat a lot of lamb. A pound or so on average is about it for the year. Compare that to about 100 pounds a year of chicken.
Meat + Poultry found that Mexico and the Caribbean became larger importers of U.S. lamb.
RELATED: This Meat + Poultry report explains what countries are responsible for the increase in lamb exports. It also tracked how beef and pork exports fared. See that here.
