Farmers and State agriculture officials are turning to a higher power to make it rain. Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black gathered with more than 100 farmers today to pray.

Black sang and prayed with the crowd at the Georgia Farm Bureau headquarters in Macon. He says it’s been a bad year for farmers with tornadoes, wildfires and now a drought.

“I call in my Heavenly Father to send the rain. It’s the source of all those things so that’s what we’re here to do today.”

Most counties south of Atlanta are now in severe or extreme drought. James Malone grows cotton and corn in Laurens County. He says he’s had just an inch and a half of rain in the last two months.

“It’s really a disaster when we’ve got the best prices in my career for cotton and corn. All commodities are really high now. But it doesn’t do any good if you don’t have anything to sell come harvest time.”

State climate officials predict the drought will continue through the summer.

Tags: Georgia agriculture, Georgia Farm Bureau, Commissioner Gary Black, 2011 drought