The federal government is stepping in to offer financial help to Alabama farmers. Many farmers lost their crops and a lot of money. It's based on the bad combination of a harsh spring, summer drought and flooding in the fall.
Randall Vaden is a third generation cotton farmer. Vaden co-owns Scruggs & Vaden Gin Company and farms 4,000 acres of land in Lauderdale County. Vaden thought this year's harvest would be huge, but he was wrong.
"It had the chance of being one of the best cotton crops we've ever made," says Vaden. "It hit us pretty hard."
A wet spring, dry summer, and fall full of rain nearly brought production to a halt. Vaden estimates the yield is down about thirty percent. Vaden says the continuous rain during August and September really set them back. Right now, he's still picking cotton. Normally, that process would be finished by this time of year. Since the cotton wasn't able to picked immediately, Vaden says the exposure really had a negative impact on the quality of the cotton.
"The color grades were off, which is the grade of the color of the actual cotton fiber," explains Vaden. "It's a four to five cent deduction on that."
The five cent deduction adds up fast and can hurt a farmer's profit.
"On our crop, it would mean about an $80,000 loss," says Vaden. "There are 500 pounds in every cotton bale. If you take off five cents on every one of those pounds, that really adds up to a lot of money."
Vaden is one of many farmers who suffered severe crop loss this year. Because the weather caused so much damage, Colbert and Lauderdale counties are now eligible for Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loans and the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE) that was approved as part of the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008.
As farmers work to catch up, Vaden predicts a rough recovery, but remains hopeful.
"The farmers definitely appreciate all the help we can get," says Vaden. "I'm sure those low-interest loans will be a good fit for some people and it will help some operators."
The FSA will consider each application based on the extent of losses and repayment ability.
Randall Vaden is a third generation cotton farmer. Vaden co-owns Scruggs & Vaden Gin Company and farms 4,000 acres of land in Lauderdale County. Vaden thought this year's harvest would be huge, but he was wrong.
"It had the chance of being one of the best cotton crops we've ever made," says Vaden. "It hit us pretty hard."
A wet spring, dry summer, and fall full of rain nearly brought production to a halt. Vaden estimates the yield is down about thirty percent. Vaden says the continuous rain during August and September really set them back. Right now, he's still picking cotton. Normally, that process would be finished by this time of year. Since the cotton wasn't able to picked immediately, Vaden says the exposure really had a negative impact on the quality of the cotton.
"The color grades were off, which is the grade of the color of the actual cotton fiber," explains Vaden. "It's a four to five cent deduction on that."
The five cent deduction adds up fast and can hurt a farmer's profit.
"On our crop, it would mean about an $80,000 loss," says Vaden. "There are 500 pounds in every cotton bale. If you take off five cents on every one of those pounds, that really adds up to a lot of money."
Vaden is one of many farmers who suffered severe crop loss this year. Because the weather caused so much damage, Colbert and Lauderdale counties are now eligible for Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loans and the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE) that was approved as part of the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008.
As farmers work to catch up, Vaden predicts a rough recovery, but remains hopeful.
"The farmers definitely appreciate all the help we can get," says Vaden. "I'm sure those low-interest loans will be a good fit for some people and it will help some operators."
The FSA will consider each application based on the extent of losses and repayment ability.
