Drought conditions worry metro farmers

Neil Taylor has farmed his 11 acres of Henry County land for 19 years. He said this drought is among the worst he's seen.

"It's been tough," Taylor told Channel 2's Richard Elliot. "Reminiscent of that drought seven years ago when it was also tough."

The State Climatologist's Office declared most of Georgia south of I-20 in extreme drought, including South Fulton, Douglas, Carroll, Clayton, Henry, Rockdale and Walton counties. Much of the rest of metro Atlanta, including DeKalb, Cobb, Cherokee and South Gwinnett counties, remain in a serious drought.

Taylor owns TaylOrganic Farms off Highway 155 in Ellenwood. Because there's no rain, he's using extra water from the county, and he said, it's costing him a pretty penny.

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"I'm up in the thousands of dollars right now paying my water bill," said Taylor. "I've given up my salary to buy extra water to produce vegetables because I've got families every week relying on me for vegetables."

He still believes that, through expensive irrigation, he'll produce a good crop of rattlesnake beans, figs, okra and plenty of peppers.

Over at the Truly Living Well Center For Natural Urban Agriculture, operations manager Eugene Cooke told Elliot the drought is hurting their farm too.

"The lack of rain is hard for us, too," said Cooke.

The Truly Living Well Center farms on land formerly used as a housing project in the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood not far from Ebenezer Baptist Church. It grows okra, melons, peppers and flowers. Because of the drought, they've been forced to use drip irrigation, but Cooke said city water is just not as good as water from the sky.

"There's nothing like rain," said Cooke. "Irrigation water is lacking that living element. When that rain comes through the lightning and thunder and comes through the clouds, it's charged with a living element that irrigation water coming through pipes just is lacking."

Taylor agrees, calling rain water "agua from Jesus." He'd much rather rely on that than expensive irrigation water, but he knows that irrigation water is the only thing keeping his crops alive right now.

"If you don't irrigate as a farmer, you're going to die on the vine," he said.

For more information: www.taylorganic.blogspot.com and trulylivingwell.com.