In a recent update from the Carolinas, ag officials expressed grave concerns over worsening drought conditions and their devastating impact on crops.
According to the Director of the North Carolina Farm Service Agency, the damage to crops, particularly the corn crop, is extensive and irreversible due to the prolonged dry spell.
“The corn crop, for all practical purposes, is pretty well gone, except in some of the black land areas down east where the ground is a little heavy and they had a little bit of water and their spots where they could have got some rain,” Bob Etheridge explains. “No matter how much rain we get, they’re probably not going to have much of a corn crop.”
He also noted the widespread impact on other crops such as soybeans, which are suffering due to the drought.
“Soybeans some more to die, depending on the age because of the drought. I take my home count as an example... we didn’t have any rain from the 15th of May until this past weekend. There we got three-tenths. Some people got eight, some people got in varying amounts, but we’re still going to have spikes across the state. Sweet potatoes are suffering. Almost every crop is in some way impacted and tobacco is going to— I don’t think we know yet what kind of quality it’s going to become harvest time, but I would venture to say on average it’s going to be— the quality won’t be what anticipated.”
South Carolina’s Ag Commissioner highlighted the inadequate rainfall in parts of the state following a dry month, emphasizing: “It wasn’t nearly enough after a month of almost none.”
