Ga. farmers struggle amid higher rainfall, lack of sun
BULLOCH COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - Georgia farmers often spend June hoping for rain and a break from the sun on their crops. This year, it’s the opposite.
Growers say the rain over the past few days is almost becoming too much of a good thing.
Irrigation pivots sat motionless amid rain-soaked acres of young cotton plants. Farmer Lee Cromley says June has brought higher-than-normal rainfall and lower-than-normal temperatures.
He says the plants need more sun for them to grow and mature fast enough. But the bigger concern is soggy ground that won’t handle tractors and heavy equipment to spray weed killer and other applications.
“We need the sunshine, but the most important thing is being able to stand up in the field and be able to do the work we need to do,” said Cromley.
If growers can’t drive the fields and apply herbicides, weeds could take over and outgrow the plants. If that happens, it could cause problems now that hurt yields in the fall.
He says they need a small window of dry weather to get that done, but they don’t need that window to get any bigger.
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