No relief in sight for farmers
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, September 5, 2001
Wednesday, September 05, 2001
The Natchez Democrat
VIDALIA, La. – For rain-soaked Miss-Lou crops and the farmers
that tend them, things may be getting worse, according to experts.
Weather forecaster Chris Jacob, with the National Weather Service
in Jackson, said Concordia Parish farmers can expect another round
of thunderstorms and showers by the weekend. &uot;Right now we’re
getting back to our typical summer-time pattern,&uot; Jacob said.
&uot;But we’ll break that by Friday or Saturday with some pretty
substantial rain totals, and storms that are moving in. We should
stay dry the rest of the week, but we may have another severe
round by the weekend.&uot;
Jacob said models show a cold front pushing into the Southeast
by Friday or Saturday, and hanging around until at least Monday.
That’s not good news, according to Concordia Parish County
Agent Glen Daniels. &uot;We’re in a bad situation,&uot; he said.
&uot;It looked like a bumper crop this year. We’ve just had an
excessive amount of rainfall, and we don’t need any more.&uot;
Daniels said Concordia Parish collected 7.92 inches of rain
in August, while a research station in St. Joseph reported 3.97
inches.
In samples sent to Daniels from sorghum farmers, nearly half
was badly damaged, due to seed sprouting on the head of the plant.
The only crop that seems to be doing well is corn, Daniels
said. &uot;The corn is (OK),&uot; he said. &uot;It seems to
be holding up, but if we get any strong winds, we’ll be in trouble.&uot;