FROGMORE, La. — To hear cotton gin owner Buddy Tanner tell it, there is not an aspect of this year’s cotton crop that this summer’s drought and high heat has not hurt.

&uot;It’s affected the staple, or length of the fiber, which costs farmers a lot of money, and yields are down&uot;&160;said Tanner, owner and president of Tanner & Co.

Tanner added that in Concordia Parish, the drought also produced cotton that is of lower quality and is less strong than usual.

&uot;We’ve seen 15 to 20 percent more cotton come through the gin than we did at this time last year, too, because in dry weather the cotton matures faster,&uot; he said.

And although the Miss-Lou has experienced rainstorms for the last several days, that could end up being more of a curse than a blessing, said Concordia Parish County Agent Glen Daniels.

&uot;I expect the rain to slow down our harvest somewhat, and to also cause problems with our grades,&uot;&160;or quality of cotton, Daniels said.

Fortunately, more storage modules are in use in Concordia Parish than in past years.

&uot;In the past, we had to wait for trailers to load the cotton on, but now (farmers) can put it in these modules, which can hold up to 14 or 15 bales apiece,&uot; Daniels said.

Late rain and stinkbugs are also causing Concordia soybeans to stay &uot;green,&uot; or not dry out at the normal rate necessary for picking. Combined with dry weather damage from this summer, that could mean that up to 25 percent of the parish’s soybeans will not harvested at all, according to Daniels’ estimates.

He added that it is already difficult enough for farmers to make ends meet, given the relatively low prices they are paid for their crops. As of last Friday, October cotton was priced at 63.45 cents a pound, while September soybeans were priced at $5.33 per bushel.

About 40 percent of Concordia Parish’s cotton and about 40 to 50 percent of its soybeans have not yet been harvested, but Daniels said those crops should be picked by the end of October and by early November, respectively.