Georgia's Drought Could Be Costly

All over the state people are being asked to conserve water -- all because of the extreme dry weather plaguing Georgia. It may cost some folks their lawns, but it could cost others their livelihood.

At this point, there is no indication that the drought will cause consumers to pay more for products like corn, but that is no consolation for the farmers struggling to grow the food everyone eats. In one of the driest areas of the state, this has already been a damaging weather year for farmers.

David Smith operates one of the few cotton gins in all of North Georgia. It's too early for him to fire up the machinery, but he's already wondering how much cotton he'll have to gin when it is time.

It will be tough to grow a decent stand of cotton in Bartow County as long as the ground stays parched and cracked like it is. In some areas, Smith can't even get any cotton seed in the ground.

"Without the moisture to soften the dirt so the planting equipment can take the ground, there's no need in even going to the field," he said.

In the field, the lack of rain is just the latest problem. The brown leaves are signs of the damage done to Smith's corn crop when freezing temperatures hit earlier this month.

"When the cold hit, it really set everything back," said Smith. "Talking to one of our producers, he looked at a wheat field -- it had about 90 percent damage."

Smith is confident his corn crop can bounce back from the cold snap -- if he gets some rain. His cotton and his livelihood depends on it.

Georgia farmers have been dealing with nearly two years of below-normal rainfall. Smith's area of the state is now in a severe drought, with little promise of that changing anytime soon.