Much of June and July left growers in the Carolinas worried about the rest of the growing season.
However, recent rains, especially in eastern North Carolina, have brought new found hope.
A corn specialist with North Carolina Cooperative Extension shares more.
“We’re seeing this corn crop try to recover a little bit that now that we’ve got a little bit of rain in the last week across the Coastal Plain and the Tidewater area. Some corn that certainly was unrecoverable as far as damage, but there are some fields that are perked up and we’re just now trying to evaluate how good of a pollination we got on those fields. So, it’s still a matter of seeing what can be salvaged is really where we’re at,” according to Ron Heiniger.
With some earlier this month, even estimating as much as 80% of the corn crop was lost, recent rain has allowed for quite the recovery.
“I think we still have probably 60%, maybe 65% of the crop that can be salvaged, where we were able to keep a little bit of green on the leaves and get it pollinated. I think we’ll get some yield out of it. It’s certainly affected our yield potential even on that could be salvaged, but I think 60-65% can be salvaged,” he adds.
Sadly, those whose crops have not recovered are now weighing their options.
With little to no opportunity for replant, some corn growers are considering chopping for silage.
