La-Press-Release
Louisiana Agricultural Statistics Service
5825 Florida Blvd.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana  70806
Phone: (225) 922-1362

                               PRESS RELEASE
On June 1 Crop Report                               For Information Contact:
                                                    Terry Mathews
For Immediate Release: June 30, 2005                800.256.4485


        Louisiana Cotton Acreage Expected to Increase by 20 Percent

“Louisiana farmers were forced to alter some of their March 1 planting
intentions in response to weather conditions,” according to Nathan Crisp,
Director of the National Agricultural Statistics Service’s Louisiana Field
Office.  “Wet weather in early March followed by little or no rain
throughout the state in late April and May changed things,” Crisp
continued.  Growers planted fewer cotton acres than they intended in March,
but soybean acreage was up from the intentions estimate.  Overall, cotton,
sorghum, sweet potato and hay acreages were expected to be up from 2004
levels while acreages for all other major crops were estimated to be down
slightly from last year.

Cotton planted acreage is expected to total 600,000 acres, up 20 percent
from last year and 14 percent more than in 2003.

Soybean planted acreage is expected to total 900,000 acres, 200,000 acres
fewer than last year, but 50,000 acres more than the March 1 intentions.

A total of 530,000 acres of rice are expected to be planted, down 1 percent
from 2004.  Of these acres, long grain varieties are expected to account
for 520,000 acres and medium grain varieties for the remaining 10,000
acres.

Sugarcane acreage for harvest is estimated at 460,000 acres, down 5,000
acres from last year.

Corn planted acreage, at 360,000 acres, is down 30,000 acres from the March
1 intentions and down 60,000 acres from 2004.

Grain sorghum planted acreage, at 100,000 acres, is up 15,000 acres from
last year.

Sweet potato planted acreage, at 17,000 acres, is up 1,000 acres from a
year ago.

An estimated 130,000 acres were planted to winter wheat, down 50,000 acres
from 2004.  Of these, an estimated 120,000 acres were harvested for grain.

All hay acreage intended for harvest is estimated at 400,000 acres, up
30,000 acres from 2004.

The U.S. planted area for all cotton in 2005 is estimated at 14.0 million
acres, up 3 percent from 2004 and 4 percent above 2003. Upland cotton
acreage totaled 13.8 million acres, also up 3 percent from last year.

U.S Soybean planted area is estimated at 73.3 million acres, down 3 percent
from last year’s record high acreage.  Area for harvest, at 72.4 million
acres, is down 2 percent from 2004.

Rice planted area for the U.S. is estimated at 3.31 million acres, 1
percent below last year’s planted acreage.

U.S. Sugarcane area for harvest as sugar and seed during the 2005 crop year
is estimated at 947,900 acres, 1 percent above last year.

The U.S. Corn planted acreage for all purposes is estimated at 81.6 million
acres, up 1 percent from 2004 and 4 percent above 2003.

U.S. Grain sorghum area in 2005 is estimated at 7.01 million acres, down 6
percent from 2004.

Sweet potato acreage for the U.S. is estimated at 92,300 acres for the 2005
season, down 5 percent from 2004 and 4 percent from 2003.

The U.S. all wheat planted area is estimated at 58.1 million acres, down 3
percent from 2004.  Harvested area is expected to total 50.4 million acres,
up 1 percent from last year.  The 2005 winter wheat planted area, at 41.4
million acres, is 4 percent below last year and down less than 1 percent
from the previous estimate.

U.S. producers expect to harvest 61.7 million acres of all hay in 2005,
fractionally below last year.