Hurricane Michael & Cotton Farmers

While the news always shows the building destruction & death toll, it always seems to skip the agriculture. What does this have to do with photography? Well, read on and I'll tell you.

Yesterday, I read an article from Southern Living Magazine that covered the devastation Hurricane Michael inflicted upon the cotton farmers in the Southeast United States this week.

In the article, a representative from the Georgia Department of Agriculture reported that only 15% of cotton crops were harvested before the hurricane Michael pummeled the region over the last few days with Category 3 winds and rain. The Southeastern states produce about 30% of the nation's cotton.

Cotton also happens to be the largest cash crop in the state of Texas, the state owning about one-half of all the cotton acres in the United States. South Texas's cotton growers felt the same hit as Georgia and other states after Hurricane Harvey.

While it seems like terrible news, and it is as the loss will hit the farmers hard, there is some positive light to share. While hurricane felled trees would take 10 to 20 years after replacing to mature and harvest, cotton only takes about 145 days from seed to harvest. That's less than five months to grow a new crop of cotton locks for harvesting. 

Alex Shelley Photography is proud to support our nation's cotton farmers, especially those affected by Hurricane Michael by exclusively offering photographic art printed on 100% cotton paper. By using cotton paper, not only do we help preserve the gorgeous forests of our world, but we also preserve your beautiful photographic memories.

If you'd like to support the victims of Hurricane Michael, you can donate directly through Facebook here.

If you'd like to learn more about our sustainable cotton photographic artwork, please visit our Prints & Products page..