Farm Progress

They saw fields of cotton that were completely flooded by torrential rains, leaving nothing but dead stalks. Harvested cotton in modules remained along field borders, sagging and discolored from absorbed moisture and reeking of decay.

Ron Smith 1, Senior Content Director

September 25, 2017

18 Slides

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee Michael Conaway, and Texas Commissioner of Agriculture Sid Miller saw firsthand the devastating impact Hurricane Harvey had on South Texas cotton farmers during a tour of the El Campo (Wharton County) area last week.

They saw fields of cotton that were completely flooded by torrential rains, leaving nothing but dead stalks. Harvested cotton in modules remained along field borders, sagging and discolored from absorbed moisture and reeking of decay.

The tour also stopped at Farmers Cooperative gin in El Campo where gin manager Jimmy Roppolo explained how they were attempting to salvage some of the water-damaged cotton. Here are a few photos from the tour.

About the Author(s)

Ron Smith 1

Senior Content Director, Farm Press/Farm Progress

Ron Smith has spent more than 40 years covering Sunbelt agriculture. Ron began his career in agricultural journalism as an Experiment Station and Extension editor at Clemson University, where he earned a Masters Degree in English in 1975. He served as associate editor for Southeast Farm Press from 1978 through 1989. In 1990, Smith helped launch Southern Turf Management Magazine and served as editor. He also helped launch two other regional Turf and Landscape publications and launched and edited Florida Grove and Vegetable Management for the Farm Press Group. Within two years of launch, the turf magazines were well-respected, award-winning publications. Ron has received numerous awards for writing and photography in both agriculture and landscape journalism. He is past president of The Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association and was chosen as the first media representative to the University of Georgia College of Agriculture Advisory Board. He was named Communicator of the Year for the Metropolitan Atlanta Agricultural Communicators Association. More recently, he was awarded the Norman Borlaug Lifetime Achievement Award by the Texas Plant Protection Association. Smith also worked in public relations, specializing in media relations for agricultural companies. Ron lives with his wife Pat in Johnson City, Tenn. They have two grown children, Stacey and Nick, and three grandsons, Aaron, Hunter and Walker.

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