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Cotton farmers in Texas brace for hurricane Rita
College Station, Texas
September 21, 2005

Cotton farmers in Brazos and Burleson counties are working into the late evening hours this week, accelerating harvest activities as Hurricane Rita continues a projected path toward the Texas Gulf Coast.

"We're running behind normal schedule," said John Malazzo, a Burleson County cotton farmer. "The cotton stayed green for a long time because of rains we had. Right now, we are 60 (percent) to 70 percent harvested, which is not enough. We need it all. We're working night and day trying to get the harvest in. We're hoping some of the projections are wrong in terms of the amount of rain and wind we will receive."

Steve Perrone, with Mid Valley Gin Company, said the Brazos bottom harvest is "probably about 40 percent complete. The big problem facing farmers right now is losing their tarps. We're telling folks to move modules to higher ground (for added protection)."

"We're concerned about those tarps blowing off and cotton blowing all over the county here," Malazzo said. "We're trying to take some steps to tie those tarps down better and hope for the best."

Cotton pickers were harvesting past 9 p.m. this week, Perrone said, quoting truck driver reports.

"They can pick as long as the humidity is low," he said.

The quality of the Brazos bottom crop this year has been good, Perrone said.

"The color has been excellent," he said. "The staple has been good. I'd say there has been B-plus quality coming out of the fields."

"Right now it's just perfect," Malazzo said. "We're looking at some top grades. Of course this cotton we're picking now hasn't been rained on.

We've been in a dry spell. It's been really perfect weather up until maybe this Friday night."

A sizable portion of unharvested cotton in Robertson County – where "very little has been defoliated" – could be in jeopardy, Perrone said.

Most of the cotton has been harvested in the Blacklands and Upper Coast regions, said Dr. John Robinson, Texas Cooperative Extension cotton marketing economist.

"They're probably still picking starting from Wharton on up northward," Robinson said. "The rain that is expected is not going to help anything for those still picking. The moisture will stain the lint and the cotton will grade lower."

"About 75 percent or greater is already in module, but there's some later stuff out there that has potential to be damaged by wind or rain,"

said Archie Abrameit, farm manager with the Stiles Farm Foundation in Thrall. "We've had real good weather up until this point, that's been a plus for us. We've got a stripper coming to finish the next few acres. For those who have some late-planted cotton that hasn't defoliated, they will have to just wait and see."

Cotton in the major producing parts of the state – the High Plains and Rolling Plains regions – shouldn't receive much of an impact from the hurricane, Robinson said.

"The only market influence is if it somehow contributes to a lot cloud cover and cool weather over the Southern High Plains," he said. "That wouldn't be what the doctor ordered for a perfect crop there. Right now, their crop is shaping up to be really good."

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