Storm gives Worth County cotton crop a beating - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

Storm gives Worth County cotton crop a beating

  • More WALB News10 HeadlinesMore News Headlines

  • Monday, May 20 2013 11:25 AM EDT2013-05-20 15:25:03 GMT
    Two men, one black and one white, burst into the Petro Store at the intersection of Highway 200 and Highway 45 Sunday night, and attacked the clerk, stealing money. The victim told authorities that the
    Two men, one black and one white, burst into the Petro Store at the intersection of Highway 200 and Highway 45 Sunday night, and attacked the clerk, stealing money.

  • Monday, May 20 2013 10:54 AM EDT2013-05-20 14:54:19 GMT
    Information from the Georgia Lottery- ATLANTA – A Valdosta man has won a huge jackpot prize playing Fantasy 5. William Gilbert, 71, matched all five numbers from the May 16 Fantasy 5 drawing, winning
    William Gilbert, 71, matched all five numbers from the May 16 Fantasy 5 drawing, winning the 484,201 jackpot prize. Barretts, 6685 Bemiss Road in Valdosta, sold the Quik Pik ticket.

  • Monday, May 20 2013 10:45 AM EDT2013-05-20 14:45:59 GMT
    Thomasville Police Officers responded to Walmart in reference to a shoplifting Sunday night. Employees told police a man left the store with a shopping cart full of items without paying. The employees
    Thomasville Police Officers responded to Walmart in reference to a shoplifting Sunday night. Employees said the man pulled knife and began swing it at them. He then ran to a vehicle parked in the parking lot and attempted to leave however, but the car would not start, so he took off running.
    •   

September 08, 2004

Albany -- Most Georgia farmers escaped catastrophic damage from Tropical storm Frances. Still, damage is bad enough that state agriculture officials are hoping to get federal disaster aid.

The gusty winds and heavy rains of Tropical Storm Frances may be just a memory in Worth County now, but the damage it did to their cotton crops is not.

"They are going to give the farmer a lower grade for that yellow color," says Rusty Harris, Extension Agent for Worth County, as he points to a damaged cotton plant.

Frances flattened many crop fields. But overall cotton was the hardest hit.

A large portion of what was suppose to be a good year's yield is either badly damaged or lying on the ground.

"This is a rough estimate but I'm going to say that 50 to 100 pounds per acre has been lost in the county wide yield because of the rain," says Harris.

Before Frances, farmer Gene Patterson was just a week away from harvesting his now battered cotton fields. Today he's concerned about the price he'll get at sale.

"The grade is definitely going to be hurt. I'm sure it will never get the grade as good as it could have," says Patterson.

Farmers would usually get about $300 per bail of cotton, but now because of the cotton exposure to winds and rains from Frances they expect that number to drop to about $200 per bail.

Now as these farmers recover all they can do is hope that Ivan heads in another direction. 

"We don't need another one the impact would be to strong,"says Patterson.

An impact farmers are hoping they wouldn't have to soon face. 

Damage from Frances is especially bad for cotton farmers already hurt by predictions of a low quality crop this year.

posted at 6:03PM by scott.hunter@walb.com