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Louisiana has smallest cotton crop since 1946NEW ORLEANS (AP)--Louisiana has produced its smallest cotton crop since 1946, after farmers planted fewer acres in favor of higher priced crops and then suffered damages from last summer's hurricanes. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates 2008 production at 280,000 bales, down 60 percent from 2007 and the lowest level since 1946, when production hit 247,000 bales. Acreage was down 30,000 acres as farmers planted traditional cotton acreage to crops like corn and soybeans, which typically cost less to produce than cotton and had been fetching higher prices. But of the 300,000 acres planted, only about 240,000 were harvested. Jess Barr, executive vice president of the Louisiana Cotton Producers Association, attributes that largely to the abandonment of acres after hurricanes Gustav and Ike in September.
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