While weather conditions in Camden, Currituck and upper Pasquotank were still “abnormally dry” as of last week, the U.S. Drought Monitor had designated Chowan, Perquimans, and lower Pasquotank counties as areas of “moderate drought.”
Across the state of North Carolina, drought conditions have agriculture experts concerned about the effects on this year’s crop production. In the northeastern region, while local agriculture experts are monitoring the situation, Congressman Don Davis, D-N.C., has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to designate 19 of the 21 counties he represents as disaster areas.
According to Davis’ letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, three of the 1st District’s counties have seen their drought designation worsen from moderate to severe within the past week. The remaining 16 counties are, according to the letter, under threat of also changing to the severe designation, raising concerns about the stress on this year’s crop yields.
“The economic impact of this drought is not limited to the farming sector,” Davis said. “It also affects local businesses that rely on the agricultural industry, creating a ripple effect felt throughout many rural communities.”
Al Wood, an agricultural agent with the Pasquotank Center of N.C. Cooperative Extension, said he’s been keeping an eye on weather conditions and he is concerned. While area drought conditions haven’t been as severe as in other parts of the state, they are bad enough for his office to begin conversations with area farmers about the potential effects on their production this year, he said. It’s likely that the drought conditions, combined with high production costs and a lower commodities market, will affect farmers’ bottom line.
Wood says that farmers in other parts of the state are mowing fields flat due to a lack of water as a way to hydrate their crops. He isn’t aware of any Pasquotank farmers taking that measure yet.
Residents should keep in mind that crops are a series of “minerals and vitamins” that largely contain water, Wood said. Without water, crops suffer and ultimately, so do farmers and consumers.
“It becomes emotionally and financially stressful,” he said.
In Camden County, Agricultural Extension Agent Austin Brown said his office also is monitoring area weather conditions. But just how significant an impact the ongoing drought will have for area farmers won’t be known until the end of the growing season, he said.
“We have seen the impact of the dry weather but we’re not as bad as some of the others (across the state),” Brown said.
Both Wood and Brown point out that farmers in northeastern North Carolina do not rely on irrigation to hydrate their crops. Instead, as Wood said, they rely “on God’s good graces” — rain.
Brown and Wood say that recent rains have helped the situation to a degree. However, the entire region is suffering from a lack of rainfall that’s been so intense some canal and ditches are drying up.
Davis’ office has not yet received a response to the congressman’s letter, according to spokesperson Kris Aleksander. She says Davis’ office will continue to monitor weather conditions as Davis works with other members of Congress where the drought has also been challenging, specifically Georgia and Maryland.
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