‘A loss’: Crops struggle for North Carolina farmers amid heat, drought

COATS, N.C. (WNCN) — High temperatures and weeks of clear skies might have you wondering when it’s going to rain. But for North Carolina farmers, the impact goes even further.

As of Tuesday, central North Carolina has gone more than 18 days without widespread rain. Heat advisories were also recently issued for some counties as we see ongoing temperatures in the 90s.

Harnett County farmer Curt Honeycutt says the heat, plus the lack of rain, is killing hundreds of acres of his crops.

“No moisture left in this ground at all,” he said as he pointed to concerningly dry soil and wilting leaves on his corn stalks. “It’s pretty much a loss at this point.”

He tells CBS 17 it’s the worst drought he’s seen since he started Honeycutt Farms.

“I’ve been farming on my own now for about 12 years, and this is the longest period that I’ve seen without rain,” he explained.

Honeycutt is 6’6 tall, and at this point in the season, he says this corn is supposed to be taller than he is.

The slideshow below shows Honeycutt with the corn plants on Tuesday, compared to another photo taken during the same week in previous years.

“It’s going to make the bottom line tight for sure,” Honeycutt said. “We’re depending on this crop to bring us revenue to keep things going.”

While his corn is grown to feed farm animals in North Carolina, other crops end up at the State Farmers Market , bringing healthy, nutritious food to your table.

However, some of those crops aren’t so lucky either.

“People have been coming up here asking if we have butter beans and stuff like that, and we don’t have any because of the rain, because of the heat,” said Jada Carter, who works the farmers market with Beth Moore’s Produce.

As farmers across the state feel the impact, Honeycutt says it’s all about planning for the worst, and hoping for the best.

“We just have to hold that faith and know that that rain is coming. And it will,” he said. “It will come in time.”

Click here for CBS 17’s latest forecast.

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