Three Times Normal Rainfall Drown Crops At Harvest Time

Damaged cotton bolls contribute to the 75 percent loss in the county’s cotton crop.

Staff Report

    The year started out as a promising one for Yalobusha County Farmers. But, three times the normal amount of rain in September and October turned it into a major disaster at harvest time.

Crop loss estimates run as high as $5 million in Yalobusha, according to Gary Crafton, County Director for the Farm Service Agency. Statewide estimates tallied by Mississippi State University show a $485 million, or 30.3-percent loss during the year.

The loss represents the worst year seen by the state’s agriculture community since the 1950s. The U.S. Department of Agriculture included Yalobusha County as one of 79 Mississippi counties declared as disaster areas.

Yalobusha Supervisors passed a resolution in November also declaring the county a disaster area for farmers.

 Time is an issue as lawmakers in Washington work to get legislation passed that would offer additional relief to the state’s farmers. The Farm Bill provides disaster assistance to producers, but does not pay off until the end of the crop-marketing year in October of 2010.

State and national leaders say that would be too late for farmers who must have immediate relief or face going out of business.

Representative Travis Childers met with north Mississippi farmers in mid-December to get a first hand assessment of the damages in the First District.