Alabama Farmers try to salvage crops after recent rain

Yahoo

6 days ago

TUSCALOOSA, Ala (WIAT) – Farmers are trying to salvage their crops following days of rain.
Alice Parker and her husband started Parker Farm and Produce in Northport in 1985. In the property's produce check-out space, a newspaper article from 2013 hangs on the wall, declaring the Parkers as Farmer of the Year for their wide array of fruits, vegetables and spices.
If you visit Parker Farms off Boone Road, you'll find zucchini, garlic, potatoes, beans, apples, grapes, muscadines, basil and more.
'We couldn't grow all of this stuff if we didn't sell,' Parker said.
Because a farmer's livelihood relies on how much they sell, which is also tied to how much they grow, rain is a concern right now.
'We want them to be profitable, because there's no substantiality without probability,' Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Rick Pate said.
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'They can't take so many financial hits and continue to grow,' Pate added.
Parker is just one of many farmers across the state who have suffered losses due to recent rainfall.
'It has washed out, and we had to replant,' Parker said.
Replanting this produce is a much more tedious process than just putting a seed into the ground, especially when farmers have multiple fields to re-seed.
'Your seed cost is about $100 per acre. Then, of course, you get so much rain, then you'll lose some of your fertility, and then erosion,' Wayne Gilliam said.
Gilliam comes from a family of farmers. Now, he helps other farmers in his position as Tuscaloosa County Farmers Co-op's general manager.
'We had lots of rain in 1976, but this is the worst rain since then,' Gilliam said.
The Parkers' farm sits on a hill, which helped the water run-off a little, but other farms in the area are flooded.
'We've got farmers posting some pictures of just whole fields under water,' Pate said. 'I think you're going to see smaller supplies at our farmers market.'
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