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Cotton farmers work overtime ahead of Ida

By Len Kiese - bio | email

ALBANY, GA (WALB) –With the threat of wind and heavy rain from Ida, farmers are working overtime to protect their crop.

At Vann Farms in Mitchell County, cotton is being harvested quickly.

"We started early," said Scott Vann, "We're picking until we can't."

The early picking comes from clues up above in the sky. "It's scary," said Vann.

Dark clouds are rolling and Vann saw their possibilities on the radar. "A lot of rain on it, a lot of rain," said Vann.

That rain from Ida comes at a bad time for cotton farmers. "We're probably only about 30-percent through harvesting cotton," said Vann.

The rain combined with wind has the potential to damage the grade of the crop or knock it to the ground making it unable to be harvested. "Might lose 50 pounds, might lose a couple hundred. It all depends on what we get," said Vann.

So workers were busy Monday night trying to save as much as they could before Ida made her way to town.  They also worked Sunday into the early morning hours Monday.

"Normally before a storm it seems like the Lord always gives you two good nights that you can run hard if you want to," said Vann.

After two nights of preparations, farmers hope the picking prevails. "You gotta hope for the best," said Vann.

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