MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The wind and rain from Tropical Storm Ida has compounded the misery for Southern farmers already coping with a delayed harvest season.
Central Alabama farmer Andy Wendland says a rainy fall had already made it difficult for farmers to get crops out of the ground and to market. He says Ida just made things worse. Wendland grows cotton, corn, soybeans, wheat and other grains.
The public relations coordinator for the Mississippi Farm Bureau, Greg Gibson, says farmers were far behind before Ida dumped more rain on already soggy crops.
And Jeff Helms of the Alabama Farm Bureau says three-fourths of Alabama's cotton crop would normally be harvested by now. Only about one-third of the crop has been picked this year.
