Some Delays for Farmers

Farmers across Alabama are busy trying to get crops out of the field, especially peanuts, soybeans and cotton. The Alabama Extension Service says some farmers are behind by as much as three weeks and worried Tropical Storm Ida might force further delays.

At fourteen hundred acres, Tim Mulleck is the largest cotton producer in Baldwin County. Ida approached as he was right in the middle of his busy picking season.

"We're a little over fifty percent," he says, "So we have about a week more to pick." Mulleck says despite a few more days' delay he's pleased with this year's crop.

"We've had a wet August, September and a wet October. But in light of all the rain I'm tickled with the yields." says Mulleck.

He says he recorded 4.2 inches of rain from Ida. He says it takes one day of sunshine for every inch of rain before his pickers can get back into the field. Fortunately the wind and rain didn't do any significant damage to his crop.

"You can have some minimal yield loss due to the rain and to the wind, but I think with this storm the cotton got wet and hung on the stalk and hopefully in four or five days we'll be able to resume where we were." says Mulleck.

Not all Alabama farmers are so fortunate. Extension agents say the delays have already resulted in lower yields for soybean crops. Further delays might also expose peanut crops to frost.