THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 7, 1996 TAG: 9609070197
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 56 lines
``There are a lot of limbs in the fields that will have to be cleaned up. .
- Robert Goerger, extension agent
Hurricane Donna is well-remembered by G.C. Nicholas Jr. The 1960 storm uprooted 14 pecan trees from his Chesapeake farm, flinging them like toothpicks, and then ripped through buildings and fields.
But farmers in Hampton Roads won't be as quick to recall Thursday's hurricane, Fran.
Local farmers said Friday that the storm barely glanced at their farms. Its high winds flattened some corn, but did minimal damage to the crop.
``I don't think it's going to be enough to bother us any,'' said Nicholas, who was looking over his land Friday afternoon. ``I'm not worried about it.''
In Isle of Wight County, farmers had similar reports.
``Our corn stood up darned good,'' said Robert Goerger, a Virginia Cooperative Extension agent in Isle of Wight County. ``There are a lot of limbs in the fields that will have to be cleaned up. . . . But other than that, things just got beat around a little.''
But farmers in other sections of Virginia and in North Carolina may not have been so lucky. Insurance agencies said they have received calls from tobacco farmers in North Carolina and Virginia's southern and central sections.
``We're getting a steady stream of reports,'' said Bruce Stone, who runs the crop insurance program for the Virginia Farm Bureau. ``We don't yet know the extent of the damage, but we're fearful that we'll find substantial losses.''
So far, insurance officials said farmers have been reporting damage to tobacco crops in localities like Danville and South Boston. In North Carolina, tobacco crops in the eastern and central parts of the states have been hurt.
Jerry Hammons of Rain and Hail LLC, an agency under Cigna Property and Casualty, said the telephone at his Raleigh, N.C., office began ringing about 7:30 a.m. Friday morning.
But he said several tobacco growers indicated they still had enough crop to harvest - a good sign.
The damage assessment to crops, however, isn't in. Many farmers outside Hampton Roads might have been hard hit but haven't checked in with officials because of downed telephone lines and other storm-related problems.
In addition, much of the damage won't be known until floodwaters recede in central and western Virginia.
``At this point, it doesn't sound bad,'' said David Vaden, a Virginia Cooperation Extension agent in Albemarle County. ``But it's too early to tell.''
Still, Hampton Roads farmers can breathe a sigh of relief.
``I think we escaped a big bullet,'' said Lyle Pugh, a Chesapeake farmer. MEMO: Staff writer Linda McNatt contributed to this report.
KEYWORDS: HURRICANE FRAN STORM DAMAGE VIRGINIA by CNB