U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) met with local farmers and businessmen in Cherokee County last week to discuss the ongoing drought situation which has destroyed a good potion of their crops this season.

They met at the farm of John Bert East located at 4025 County Road 5 in Leesburg. Prior to his visit, Sessions stopped by the Waymon Buttram Farm in Dekalb County and afterward made a stop in Gadsden.

While in Cherokee County, Session toured some of East’s parched fields.

“It’s good to be with you,” said Sessions. “I’m sorry we haven’t had a good crop year. It has not been good at all. And we’ve got decent prices. So it’s a double frustration I know, for you to have good price out there for a change and not be able to produce a crop that is going to be worthwhile.”

Sessions noted that corn in many areas is a total loss. The hay crop is bad and cotton is weak as well.

Sessions said they are considering ways to make the crop insurance program work better. Alfas has suggested maybe adding savings accounts.

And they are also discussing creating irrigation ponds.

“I think that can work in a lot of areas,” said Sessions. “I met with cotton guys at Auburn, Alabama A&M, UAH and they say we can conserve reservoirs in the wet season and use that to irrigate.”

Local farmers told Sessions their problems are compounded by the high fuel prices. The search for alternative energy sources continues, Sessions said.

“This energy bill that I supported has some strong ethanol mandates,” said Sessions. “Some people criticize us for it. But of our wealth going out to Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela, the money stays here. We generate to make ethanol. I think we can make that work.”

Sessions says they often face objections from environmentalists when they address the issue of alternative energy sources.

“Environmentalists are tough,” said Sessions. “They say ‘don’t take any water out of the river.’ There is a belief by a lot of people believe CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) is a pollutant. It is not a pollutant. It is part of the normal atmosphere. The more carbon dioxide, the better the plants grow. In fact, they grow with less water.”

For the immediate future, however, he doesn’t see a lot of relief in sight for fuel prices.

“I don’t think we are running out of oil and gas any time soon,” said Session. “But we probably will begin to see in the next decade a growing demand in South America and other countries for instance. They will start sucking the oil and gasoline up.”

On the subject of the drought, farmers discussed the recent $1.04 million the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency recently approved for 28 counties in Alabama as part of the Emergency Conservation Program.

According to a press release from Congressman Robert Aderholt, the funding is to help farmers and ranchers in 28 counties in Alabama rehabilitate land damaged by drought.

ECP, the release said, provided emergency funding and technical assistance for farmers and ranchers to rehabilitate farmland damaged by natural disasters and for carrying out emergency water conservation measures in periods of severe drought. FSA county committees determine land eligibility based on on-site inspections of damage, taking into account the type and extent of damage.

The $1 million amounts to little when divided among 28 counties and Cherokee County wasn’t included in the distribution, local farmers pointed out.

Sessions said he would take what he saw and heard back to Washington and help the farmers however he can. In the meantime, he expressed his hope for better days ahead.

“We are looking for ways to keep those prices up,” said Sessions. “I know a lot of you, after three years of drought, begin to wonder if it’s ever going to rain again, but it is. It is going to rain again. Texas has gotten floods, so it has got to come again. I think it is the natural cycle of things, the upper atmosphere.”

“But I want to see our farmers stay in business and stay healthy,” said Sessions. “They should at least be able to take care of their families. We should keep the prices up and get us some good years and I think we will feel a lot better about things.”

East expressed his appreciation to Sessions for making the trip to Cherokee County.

“I do appreciate him coming out and taking up his time for this visit,” said East. “It was good for him to come and help us with this drought situation. It is good to see somebody from Washington on the local level that has come back and offered his advice. He may see ways in the future to help us survive.”