Was Louisiana affected by the 1980s agricultural depression?

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The late 1970s were marked by severe inflation. To address this, the Federal Reserve enacted contractionary monetary policy, which resulted in the federal funds rate to reach a high of 20%[4] and the interest rates on loans to reach 21.5%.[3] At the same time, due to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979, the United States enacted a grain embargo against the Soviet Union in 1980, causing exports to drop by 20%.[3] This also caused the prices of commodities and farmland to drop. In Iowa, farmland lost 60% of its value between 1981 and 1986. As farmers no longer had collateral for their loans, many farms and homes went into foreclosure.[1] The effects of the crisis were generally not felt until 1984, when grass-roots movements such as Farm Aid started being built to halt foreclosures.[5]
Agricultural banks felt the impact of the crisis. The Farm Credit System experienced large losses, which were the first losses since the Great Depression.[6][7] Farm debt for land and equipment purchases soared during the 1970s and early 1980s, doubling between 1978 and 1984.[6] There were 10 bank failures in 1981, only one of which was an agricultural bank. In 1985, the number rose to 62, of which agricultural banks accounted for over half.[7] By the end of the decade, approximately 300,000 farmers had defaulted on loans.[8]

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