Florence crop losses will be ‘in the millions’
On Monday, 10
In addition to the 10 primary disaster counties, 15 others were named "contiguous counties" where farm families may be eligible for FSA emergency loan assistance. They include
John David McBryde II, director of the FSA office in
The FSA office is located at
"
"While the total damages to agricultural interests in
About 50 percent of the tobacco crop was in the fie ld when the hurricane hit, Harrell said.
Harrell said immediate losses include leaves blown off the plant, broken leaf mid-ribs and tattered leaves.
"Since the hurricane, tobacco has flopped from saturated soils in many places," Harrell said. "Places on the leaf that were bruised during the hurricane have started to rot. The wind stressed the plants, making them produce ethylene, which makes it mature/ripen at a faster rate."
Growers have been working long hours trying to harvest tobacco that was salvageable, Harrell said.
"Unfortunately, a lot of tobacco is going to 'burn up' before the grower can harvest it," Harrell said. "I anticipate all the tobacco that can be harvested will be barned this week. The
Cotton was also affected.
"Lint was blown out of open bolls," Harrell said. "There is concern that there will be boll rot in the bolls that were cracked at the time of the hurricane. When lint stays wet for an extended period of time, the seeds sprout in the lint and a new cotton plant begins to grow. Excessive water also generally lowers lint quality. We had a fantastic cotton crop in the field."
Harrell said farmers worked diligently harvesting corn before the hurricane's arrival.
"Approximately 65 percent of the corn crop was harvested prior to the hurricane," Harrell said. "They were able to harvest low-lying areas that could flood. This helped minimize damage to the corn crop. There will be some loss due to lodging and grain quality issues."
Soybeans are twisted around and blown down some, but overall should be all right, Harrell said.
Harrell said that both peanuts and sweet potatoes may have fared all right during the hurricane.
"The
In a
Growers who have questions can call the
___
(c)2018 The Wilson Daily Times (Wilson, N.C.)
Visit The Wilson Daily Times (Wilson, N.C.) at www.wilsontimes.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
BRIEF: Group Health gets top score in national ranking
Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) Market – Overview on Future Need 2025
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News