
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, October 17, 1993                   TAG: 9310170108
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: E-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Newport News Daily Press
DATELINE: ISLE OF WIGHT                                LENGTH: Short

COTTON IS KING, DESPITE THE DROUGHT

Peanuts are known for their drought tolerance and durability. But this year, farmers are finding that even their hardiest crop couldn't flourish under the summer's record heat and dryness.

But agricultural officials say there is a bright spot in an otherwise dismal farm forecast: cotton.

Many of Virginia's cotton fields survived the drought, and they are expected to produce a good-size crop this year. Cotton began making a comeback in Virginia five years ago.

Bob Goerger, Isle of Wight County's extension agent, predicted more local farmers probably will convert some of their land to cotton next year after their problems with traditional crops this year.

Cotton accounts for a small portion - about $7.5 million - of the state's agricultural production.

There are about two dozen farmers in the county with 3,100 acres of cotton, Goerger said. Surry and Southampton counties also have several dozen cotton growers, he said.

Cecil Byrum, a cotton farmer in Isle of Wight, said he got high yields - as much as 800 pounds per acre - from the first field he harvested. In 1992, Virginia farmers planted 22,100 acres of cotton, and the average yield was 621 pounds per acres, according to the Virginia Agricultural Statistics Service.

by CNB