Search for new county agent continues posted Wednesday, January 2nd, 2013 @ 1:49 pm  E-mail Story |  Print Story  The search for a new county Agent for Concordia Parish is continuing, according to Seab Brown of the LSU AgCenter. Brown, of Winnsboro, began serving as acting county agent for the parish following the resignation of Nan Huff. "We are very committed to finding the best county agent we can for Concordia Parish," he said. Brown said Concordia farmers hope to enjoy another good farming year in 2013. The year 2012 was a record-breaking one for many parish and state farmers. Louisiana farmers produced a record soybean crop in 2012, yielding 44 bushels on 1.11 million acres, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics. The previous high was 43 bushels in 2007. Total soybean acreage in the parish was 73,137. Sweet potato acres were around 11,000 in 2012 in northeastern Louisiana, and that number may go down slightly in 2013 as farmers switch to soybeans, said Tara Smith, extension sweet potato specialist and coordinator at the Sweet Potato Research Station in Chase. The winter wheat crop in the Midwest is experiencing some problems because of drought conditions in that region. LSU AgCenter economist Kurt Guidry said that means wheat prices should stay strong. Brown said acreage devoted to wheat in Concordia Parish this season has not yet been computed. Louisiana's 2013 wheat crop has already been planted. Farmers harvested around 280,000 acres of wheat in 2012, and they planted more than 300,000 acres for next year with the promise of high prices. For the full story, subscribe to the The Concordia Sentinel's NEW E-Edition!