Recovery efforts continue in Screven County, following massive flooding from Tropical Storm Debby last week.

Our VIPIR-6 Alert Team says the county received between 10 and 14 inches of rainfall from Debby last week. 

The Peach State is also currently the #1 supplier of peanuts in the country, and #2 supplier for cotton.

But the storm damage is only adding to the challenges coming to farmers growing those crops.

“I’ve lived here all my life, and I haven’t seen this field–this usually doesn’t happen. This is a one-hundred year event,” said Stuart Boykin.

Boykin grows peanuts, cotton, corn and wheat on his land, but he says his crops saw close to 16 inches of rain thanks to Debby last week.

“I think we got close to 16 inches out of the whole system,” Boykin said. “We’ve probably lost 20 to 25% of our production this year on 13, 1400 an acre. 13-1400 acres is probably $200 an acre, $300 an acre—is what we’re gonna lose just because of the tropical storm damage.”​

Boykin adds with the tremendous amount of rainfall, the impacts are detrimental to his crops.

“The loss of sunlight stops the fruiting of the crop, and it takes the oxygen out of the soil, and the crops drown in the water,” said Boykin. “We also don’t have any way to continue farming these fields–they’re hydrated with water, and we can’t get tractors back there. The only option we would have is drones or airplanes, and I don’t own any of that equipment.”

Add that on top of sky-high supply costs and low commodity costs, it makes for what he’s calling a perfect storm.

“Our commodities that we’re growing have lost about 40% of their value in the last 6 months. So we bought on the high side, and we’re gonna be struggling to sell this to get bids to sell the crop this year. Where we were selling cotton for $1.00 last fall or 85 or 90 cents, it’s down in the mid-60s now,” said Boykin.

Lindy Sheppard is dealing with the same problems–but the only difference is his crops suffered from a major wash out from the storm.

“It’s a real inconvenience because it washed through my field, and we have to go around the wash to the crop that’s stranded–and we have to be careful with our equipment, not to tear our equipment up. And at some point, we got to have it repaired,” said Sheppard.

Southeast District Area Agronomy Agent Wade Parker says based on last week’s storm, the impacts on farmers is unprecedented.

“I’ve seen a lot of hurricanes and tropical storms in my career, but Debby was very unique–in that we got inundated with high amounts of rainfall,” said Parker. “The majority of the tropical systems that come through will usually travel at a pretty good speed, but there was actually a point in time where it completely stalled–and when that storm system stalled, it lead to what you see in these fields.”

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp came to Savannah, Georgia, last week in an effort to provide relief to areas that saw major impacts–Screven County just an hour from the city.

Parker says he has not heard from his office specifically, but he continues to get phone calls about damage rolling in.

That’s why they cannot share an exact total cost of damage, but they are prioritizing getting farmers the help they need.

“When it’s right in the middle of the growing season like this, it’s more difficult to quantify the exact percentage lost, or pounds per acre. The extension system with the University of Georgia, Georgia Dept of Ag–we all work very closely in trying to make sure that farmers are educated on resources available,” said Parker.

Sheppard says that state representatives have made recent visits to Screven County to assess the damage, and provide any help they can.

“We’re lucky to have some really good representatives in our area–Jon Burns and Max Burns–we’re gonna need all the help we can get,” Sheppard said.

“I’ve done every possible thing that I could do,” said Boykin. “Anything that I could control I did, and we’re just going to have to endure this and survive. That’s basically what you do when stuff like this happens. This isn’t the first time I’ve been in an emergency situation before, and it probably won’t be the last if I continue this endeavor.”

Farmers are trying to handle the chaos, all while trying to prepare for the upcoming harvest season, which begins at the end of September.

Source - https://www.wjbf.com