The drought this year has not been kind to local farmers. As described by Archie Griffin vice president of operations at Griffin Farms, “it has been the perfect storm of events.” “In the spring there was good moisture in the soil, we were able to plant early because it was fairly warm, and everything was looking great with the potential for one of the best years we have had in a long time,” said Griffin. “I told my dad I hoped we had all of our ducks in a row, as things were going too perfectly and something would bite us. About two weeks later things started to dry up because of the intense heat and lack of rain.”
Beaufort County Extension Director Rod Gurganus said the drought could not have come at a worse time in the growing cycle. “With corn, it doesn’t need as much rain early in its growth cycle,” said Gurganus. “But as we get closer to the reproductive stages of growth, there is a huge demand for water. That is the crucial time in the life of the corn plant for establishing and setting yield. If it doesn’t have enough moisture that is very bad and that is exactly what happened to us this year. We have some fields where the corn crop has completely died, while in other areas the plants are still alive but the pollination of the plants was impacted significantly. It’s just not going to be a good corn crop for western Beaufort County and will be hit and miss the further east you go in the county.”
Griffin said his corn began tasselling around the same time the drought started, He said had they had a couple of tenths of rain here and there the corn would have made a pretty good crop. But with no rain at all they took a hit. “Our corn ears right now are about two to three inches long,” said Griffin. “ Normally they would be twelve to thirteen inches. All of the recent rain has the corn and bean crops looking greener from the road. But once you get out into the field you see the damage that has been done that no amount of rain is going to fix.”
Other crops feeling the effects of the drought are soybeans, tobacco and cotton. And the impact according to Gurganus depends on the plant. “Some of the earlier planting of soybeans got hammered by the drought,” said Gurganus. “They are more resilient than corn and have a longer window for reproductive growth, but unfortunately it stayed dry too long. Tobacco and cotton thrive in dryer warmer conditions. But the combination of the drought and then all of this rain has been a less-than-ideal situation for those crops. Standing water around tobacco and cotton can have a very negative impact.”
Griffin added though his corn crop has been impacted the worst, that his soybeans, tobacco, produce, and other high-value crops have been significantly affected as well. “When it turned so dry the fertilizers that were present were never taken up into the crops, creating significant damage to them,” said Griffin. “We had soybeans blooming and putting on pods, and then simply drying off and dropping to the ground. And then all of the rain creates leaching, and runoff problems, along with erosion. In agriculture, you generally have one in every ten years when you have a knockdown, drag-out, bad crop. This is one of those years.”
Griffin said the other thing to keep in mind is the financial burden this has placed on many of the farmers. He said there are those who have planned accordingly and set the money aside for bad years such as this. But for others such is not the case. “It’s the farmers out there who over-leveraged themselves when interest rates were around zero percent and have been farming off of debit that I’m the most worried about,” said Griffin. “They are the ones who are going to take it on the chin, as this is one of those once-in-a-lifetime events when you have a bad crop, coupled with below-break-even commodity prices. It is a double-edged sword.”
Griffin added insurance is also available but will only cover between 80 to 85 percent of the three-year average of production history. But even with insurance, he said farmers are going to take a loss this year because the numbers just don’t add up. “These are the kinds of years that are very challenging,” said Griffin. “So it is important for me to look at the family I have and focus on the bright side of stuff and be thankful for what I do have, as there are people who don’t have the money to buy their next meal.”
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