Small Georgia Farms Hit Hard by Flooding

Several small farms in Metro Atlanta were hit hard by flooding. At some farms, the water wiped out entire crops, which means no source of income for the families who run the farms.

The Love is Love organic farm was covered in several feet of flood water for three days. The water destroyed the produce that was growing and left the soil unfit for farming.

The Douglas County organic farm is located along the Anawakee River, and when heavy rains caused the water to rise quickly above the banks, the water flooded the nearby fields and wiped out the crops.

"All the income we were expecting to have form crop production this year is gone," said. "Look at the force the water had pulling up the tree roots and all this was an active field. Now the creek has been rerouted right thru it," said Judith Winfrey.

Late summer plants were still being harvested and the fall plants were ready to go. Now, where there was once rich dark soil, sand, mud and clay cover everything.

"It's a sandy mess. That's the thing that scares me the most," said Winfrey.

The water didn’t make it to a couple of fields. The okra and peppers crops were spared and for now, those fields make up the only useable farmland and Love is Love.

"Its going to take a long time to rebuild the life of this soil so we can grow in it again," said Winfrey.

With broken irrigation systems, fallen trees and destroyed crops, getting the farm ready to grow again will be a huge undertaking.

"We made our entire living from this farm and we were counting on the fall to get us through the winter," said Winfrey.

To learn how to help Metro Atlanta farmers affected by the flood, go to http://www.slowfoodatlanta.org/slow_food_atl_news.html .