First To Know WeatherHurricane Michael

Actions

South Georgia cotton farm loses $500K after Hurricane Michael

The hurricane knocked all of the cotton to the ground where machines could not pick it
Posted at 8:13 PM, Feb 25, 2019
and last updated 2019-10-02 16:19:57-04

CAMILLA, Ga. (WTXL) — South Georgia cotton farmers are still feeling the effects from Hurricane Michael months after the storm swept through the area.

Larry Roach Farms is home to 850 acres of cotton, but after Hurricane Michael hit in October, none of the cotton could be sold.

The hurricane knocked all of the cotton to the ground where machines could not pick it.

Luckily, the Roach family had just taken out an insurance policy right before the storm.

The only problem, insurance pays back just half of what was lost. Roach Farms lost about a half a million dollars.

One family member explains how long the farm could be reeling from the damage.

"A small family like we are with 850 acres of cotton and 400 acres of peanuts, probably 10 to 15 years," said Jason Yarns. "Next year we will take bigger loans out and hopefully next year we can make the money to replace."

We're told there was a perfect amount of rain last cotton season, so these growers had high hopes that the crop would be one of their best yet.

That makes losing 50 percent that much more difficult.