Just months after Matthew, flooding hits farmers hard again

Many North Carolina farmers had to deal with flooding last October with Hurricane Matthew, and just six months later, crops were destroyed again.

In Edgecombe County, Rodger Grimes planted crops two weeks ago, and his corn is now ruined.

"Going through Matthew, I had hundreds of acres I lost last year to it," Grimes said.

Rodger Grimes has been farming for more than 30 years. He runs Grimes Farms and said he has not been able to get to seven of his farms for several days.

"This corn is not going to survive. It's been in the water too long now. It's going to be gone," he said. "I had some up, some just coming up in different stages."

Roads are impassable, and vehicles are stuck near the Dunbar area not far from the rising Tar River.

As the sun sets on another day of waiting for the water to recede, Grimes and other farmers can only wonder what the next day will bring.

"It's hurting all the farmers now," Grimes said.

Grimes said he hopes to get to his other farms by the weekend and assess the flood damage. He's hoping by Monday, he can start planting other crops like soybean and cotton.

He said he's hopeful in what has been a hopeless situation so far.