Massive Rain Event Threatening Coastal Plain Crops

Massive quantities of rain all season and the potential for a tropical event are just adding insult to injury for Blacklands farmers.  Rod Gurganus, Director of Beaufort County Extension:

“It seems like for us its more bad news. We have been wet all year long. For us we have been hurt by too much water and this is a continuation of that.”

Gurganus says all combines are rolling trying to get the remaining corn out of the field:

“The guys had hesitated because they don’t have driers on their farm to dry the grain. Unfortunately now with the hurricane potential it puts them in to an almost panic to get the harvest in.”

Same goes for tobacco:

“Most of the crop was out but there were some acres still in the fields. There were many neighbors who stepped into help when they could.”

Which leaves cotton and soybeans:

“We can harvest corn under more difficult circumstances, but with beans you cant even being to pick them when wet. Cotton as well. There were cotton seeds starting to sprout yesterday.”

The Blacklands have received as much as 10 inches of rain in the last seven days, and one producer has measured 80 inches this year. Director of Beaufort County Extension.