Cleveland County farmers suffer from drought

Cleveland County has been hot and dry, and local farmers are feeling the effects.

Cleveland County was under a heat advisory Friday with temperatures soaring into the upper 90s, which, together with the heat index, made it feel around 105 degrees, said Justin Lane, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Lane said July through mid-August is typically the hottest time of year, and temperatures will start to slowly go down after Aug. 10.

He said going into the week, temperatures are expected to be a little cooler with increased chances of afternoon showers, offering a welcome respite.

"The lack of rain has definitely been a problem," he said.

Lane said Cleveland County received about half the rainfall it normally gets in June and combined with the hot temperatures, it caused a fairly quick onset of drought conditions across the area.

Chris Horne, program leader, said the county received around 2.2 inches of rain for the month of June, with the west side of the county receiving as much as 2.5 inches of rain and the eastern half only getting around 1.5 inches.

Thomas Lewis, with T&S Farms near Fallston, has been able to keep his crops hydrated by using an irrigation system, but that translates into more expense and less profits.

"It's just added cost to me because we have to buy more water," he said.

He said farmers can only charge so much for a product.

"You just make less money," he said. "It's just part of it."

Some of the produce he grows includes cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelon, blackberries, cantaloupes, okra, eggplant and four types of peppers.

"A lot of it has to do with how high the temperature is and the lack of rain," Lewis said. "When you have no rain and very high temperatures, it dries the ground out so fast."

He said he's opted to not plant some crops he normally does that require more water, such as butternut squash and Crowder peas.

He said he has two ag taps through Cleveland County Water for irrigation.

"We try make sure everything gets one inch of water every week," he said.

Lewis said they normally plant on a six-week rotation to keep crops available all season, but this year they might stretch it to eight weeks before planting again because of the drought.

"It's Mother Nature at her finest," he said. "You just deal with Mother Nature and do what you can do."

Lewis sells his produce at the Foothills Famers' Market and at his farm, located at 4028 Pleasant Grove Church.

Rodney Willis, of Willis Farms near Belwood, grows sorghum for syrup and heirloom corn for grinding into cornmeal.

He said the sorghum has suffered from lack of rainfall and many of his plants have died.

Willis said he planted the first of June and got around three quarters of an inch of rain that day and then one good rainfall last week, but since then, rain has been in short supply. He said the initial rain helped the seeds germinate, but then with the dry conditions, many of them shriveled up and died.

"Then I also had corn, but I had planted it a little bit earlier and it didn't affect it quite as badly," he said last week. "If I hadn't got this rain yesterday, I don't know what I would have done. It would have been a loss. It's probably impacted me a third to a half at this time."

He said they are in a rain deficit now, and he's hoping to see more rain in upcoming weeks.

"Farming is the biggest gamble there is," he said.

Reporter Rebecca Sitzes can be reached at rsitzes@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: Cleveland County farmers suffer from drought