Area farmers still waiting for disaster money

Sep. 15--ALBANY -- Southwest Georgia farmers may be closer to having disaster relief money for Hurricane Michael in their hands in a year when crops and prices are a mixed bag.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture began accepting applications for a program that will offer payments to farmers who suffered losses due to high winds from the hurricane. The storm's biggest impacts were in cotton and pecans, which will be covered in a separate installment of the program.

"That's really helping to provide that sense of relief that's needed in this region," said Adam Rabinowitz, a University of Georgia extension economist and assistant professor in Tifton.

President Donald Trump on June 6 signed the disaster package that includes money for individuals and businesses impacted by wildfires in California and hurricane recovery in Puerto Rico.

In the 11 months since Michael, the first Category 5 hurricane to hit the continental United States since 1992, struck in southwest Georgia as a Category 3 storm, lenders and equipment dealers have been working to help farmers weather their own rough weather.

"They've worked with farmers to try to give them a little extra time, (to) work out payments," Rabinowitz said. "They're having to wait almost a year before seeing that relief."

Potential yields for peanuts and cotton, the state's two biggest row crops, look promising for the year, the economist said. That varies, with production looking "spotty" for non-irrigated crops, depending on the amount of rain received.

"Things are kind of mixed," he said. "There is a lot of concern over pricing of crops right now. They're down quite a bit."

Cotton prices, for example, are in the range of 55 cents per pound, which is not sufficient to cover production costs.

Because of a bumper crop of peanuts two years ago and a good crop in 2018, processors already have a supply of peanuts on hand, Rabinowitz said. Buyers are waiting to get a picture of this year's yield, so prices have remained low.

Another drag on farmers' bottom line is a series of tariffs that have been imposed as China and the United States have failed to negotiate a trade deal.

"There are certainly challenges in terms of international trade, particularly China, that continues to affect prices," Rabinowitz said. "In terms of Georgia agriculture, cotton is the big one on the trade side. Certainly cotton has been the biggest impact on southwest Georgia, and certainly peanuts have been affected."

That's why the processing of applications and potential for payments going out is good news for farmers.

The current stage of the relief program -- known as Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Plus (Whip+) -- will assist row crop and dairy products. Forestry, pecans and specialty crop producers will be included in later stages.

Some farmers hit by the October 2018 storm have left the profession, Rabinowitz said.

"Unfortunately, we don't have much good data" about the number, he said. "For those that were having cash-flow problems before, those that were challenged to begin with, that was the icing on the cake. We heard our secretary of agriculture in Georgia talk about this being a multigenerational event, and it certainly has been."

Farming -- including row crops like peanuts and cotton, timber, pecans, vegetables and agriculture-based tourism -- is the largest industry in the state and accounted for more than $13.79 billion in revenue to farmers for their products in 2017, according to the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, which prepares a farm gate report each year.

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