Farmers' Hard Work Pays Off--Almost 99% of Lagoons Held During Hurricane Florence

As of today, the reports show 46 out of 3,300 lagoons sustained structural damages, inundations from floods or overtopping (from too much rain) due to Hurricane Florence. 46 out of 3,300 – that’s not perfect but, still, given the size of the hurricane, it’s good news.  If you do the math, that means 98.6% of lagoons held up to the storm. That didn’t just happen. It was the result of a lot of hard work, and preparation for the hurricane, by farmers.But unfortunately good news doesn’t sell newspapers. And the News and Observer’s stories about how hog farms fared during the hurricane sure didn’t read like good news. Take the first line of one story: “The number of hog lagoons in the state that are overflowing and spilling is double the amount counted Monday afternoon…”Doubled? That sounded terrible. But, of course, the News and Observer was only reporting the bad news. It didn’t mention the thousands of lagoons that were holding up fine.Right above that story, the News and Observer, published a photo of a flooded farm and a headline: More NC hog lagoons are breached and overflowing as Florence flood waters rise. More catastrophe. More warnings of doom.Bad news sells newspapers. The News and Observer reported the threats. But ignored the bigger part of the picture where farmers’ hard work paid off.