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Farmers worried about dropping price of cotton, damage from Hurricane Michael

The Georgia Farm Bureau's 2019 forecast says Hurricane Michael cost farmers more than $2.5 billion. One of the hardest-hit crops- cotton.

BLECKLEY COUNTY, Ga. — The Georgia Farm Bureau's 2019 Agriculture Forecast takes a look ahead, but this time around, one topic of discussion was Hurricane Michael. 

The storm took out a few key crops this fall. Among the hardest-hit crops was cotton. 

Normally, cotton seeds are planted around May, but this year, Bleckley County farmer Mike Lucas says he's just not sure how much he'll be planting.

"This year is the first year in a very long time that I haven't really known what I'm going to do here in late January," says Lucas.

Lucas has a 600-acre farm where he grows corn, peanuts, and cotton, and also raises cattle.

He says last year, his cotton crops were looking good until Michael hit. "Last year, we had a good crop all the way until October before we harvested. I was looking at about an 80-cent contract. Everything was looking great until Hurricane Michael came in and knocked it all on the ground."

And 80 cents a pound is much higher than the projection for this year, which is about 65 cents.

"There's not a lot of hope. I mean, 65-cent cotton is below the cost of production, and it's gonna be really, really tough for me to put seed in the ground at that price," says Lucas.

After 30-plus years of farming, Lucas says he still has to decide whether he will plant his normal 200 acres of cotton or change the game plan.

"It's got me thinking whether I plant cotton or whether I plant corn or plant more peanuts, I don't know yet. It's very disturbing," the farmer says.

Lucas and other cotton farmers have a few more weeks to make up their minds.

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