How will Hurricane Idalia impact agriculture?

Hurricane Idalia made landfall this morning in Keaton Beach, Florida as a Category Three storm. It is set to cross parts of Georgia and the Carolina’s over the next day or so, leaving producers in its path bracing for impact.

USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey says while the storm has the potential to impact agriculture, its path will likely miss some more concentrated areas.

“I think the only good news I can find from an agricultural side of this situation is that generally, we’ll be running through an area that is relatively sparsely agricultural-oriented land. We’ve got a much higher concentration of, for example, cotton and peanuts a little further to the West across South Georgia and Central Georgia, for example. Citrus is always a big concern with hurricanes. All of that is located further to the South and East of where Idalia is going to be passing.”