Eastover — This week’s hot weather is having an impact on the drought, and farmers say they’re struggling. Some say the drought has destroyed half of their crop.
Johnny Smith has 300 acres of brown corn, stretched out like a giant burlap canvass on his 600-acre farm in Eastover.
“It should be head high and green with a big ear on it,” Smith said.
Instead, the ears are shriveled up. In his estimation, he has lost half his corn.
Cumberland County extension agent Colby Lambert said corn is suffering most. He figures the drought and wilting heat have eaten away half of the county's $3 million crop.
“Right now, it’s looking pretty bad,” Lambert said.
Soybeans are withering, too.
“Right now, our soybean crop is looking very critical, because I’m seeing plants dying in the field,” he said.
Lambert says up to half of the county's soybean crop could be gone, and it's not just for lack of rain.
“Crops, pretty much when it gets 95 degrees or hotter, they shut down growth,” he said.
Then there's tobacco, which is now being harvested. Lambert said the heat wave has snuffed out some of that crop.
“There’s just no weight to the leaves because it has been so dry. And it’s hard for the farmers to cure the tobacco right now,” he said.
Smith said these are the worst conditions he has seen in years.
“The cows don’t have no grass, and it’s tough,” he said.
Drought, Heat Taking Toll on Crops
- Reporter: Bryan Mims
- Photographer: Michael Joyner
- Web Editor: Kelly Hinchcliffe
Copyright 2009 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
5 Comments
-
- Hagan, Burr express concern over health care funding
Updated Nov. 8 11:45 p.m. |
- Wake County distributing large H1N1 vaccine shipment
Posted 44 minutes ago |
- Split N.C. delegation votes 8-5 against health care bill
Updated Nov. 8 8:11 p.m. |
- Spring Lake police to reaffirm duty in ceremony
Updated 2 minutes ago - McDonald's reopens after haz-mat incident
Updated Nov. 8 11:47 p.m. |
- Hagan, Burr express concern over health care funding
- Most Viewed Slideshows
- Families honor veterans 2009
Updated Nov. 8 3:10 p.m. - Fort Bragg homecoming
Posted Nov. 8 3:07 p.m. - Photos: Cheerleading Championship
Nov. 7, 2009
- Families honor veterans 2009
top-voted stories
-
Photo: Fall of the Berlin WallThe 28-year-old Cold War symbol along East Germany's fortified border crumbled on the evening of Nov. 9, 1989, a pivotal moment in the collapse of…
-
Photos of the weekThe snow-covered Wilder Kaiser, part of the Alps, is reflected in Lake Schwarzsee in Austria. It's among the best photos taken by Associated Press…
-
The week in entertainmentA look at the top entertainment headlines this week through the lenses of Associated Press photographers.
-
Entertainment: Winners and losersA look at the winners and losers this week in the entertainment world.
-
Photos: Raleigh fall colorsWatch the leaves change colors throughout the fall at 10 iconic locations in Raleigh.





STORIES
VIDEOS
SLIDESHOWS


Welcome to GOLO, where WRAL.com visitors can comment on stories and create profile pages, blogs and photo galleries.
You must be a registered WRAL.com user to use these tools. Click here to register or log in.