County farmers face challenges
By Steve Herring
Published in News on September 11, 2014 2:06 PM
Wayne County's corn crop appears to have survived disease without a significant yield loss, only to face a challenge beyond farmers' control -- the futures market.
For tobacco farmers, the wet weather has been the biggest challenge and one that is expected to affect the yield.
Farmers planted approximately 20,000 acres of corn and 10,000 acres of tobacco.
On average, corn yields are running anywhere between 150 to 200 plus bushels an acre. Some areas may be less than 150 bushels an acre.
"Overall, farmers seem satisfied with their corn yields," said Tyler Whaley, Extension Service field crop agent. "It all depends on where you are and if you got adequate rainfall during the pollination period.
"The one negative aspect of corn right now is price. The futures market has dropped significantly, tightening profit margins."
The prediction that the Midwest corn crop will be one for the recordbook is driving the futures market, Whaley said.
What that means for growers is that they are simply going to have to make yield this year in order to make a return on investment, Whaley said.
"For example, if your cost per acre to grow corn is $500, then you are going to have to yield 125 bushels per acre just to get back even," he said. "That is easier said than done on some of our soils. You simply just do the best you can, and that's all you can do.
"Overall I think corn growers are pleased with the yields that are coming in. Corn harvest has picked up in the past week since grain moisture levels are decreasing."
This year's crop was stricken by southern rust, an aggressive leaf disease that can have a tremendous impact on yield if it sets in before the dent stage as the kernels are denting near their crowns. The dent stage occurs between 35 to 42 days after silking.
"After dent, the corn is essentially made, and we do not suspect a significant yield loss," Whaley said. "We had some growers make fungicide applications on later planted corn, but most growers decided to take their chances and hope for the best.
"In general, I don't think we will see a huge impact in yield from Southern Rust."
The challenge tobacco farmers are facing is getting the crop harvested in a timely manner, Whaley said.
"A lot of our tobacco acreage is starting to break down which means diseases such as Black Shank and Granville Wilt are starting to set in," he said. "Most of the crop needs to be harvested immediately to prevent further yield and quality loss.
"Limited curing barn space limits growers on how much they can harvest at a given time. Growers are cropping as hard as they can to try and preserve the crop they currently have."
Everyone thought initially that eastern North Carolina was going to produce a "big" tobacco crop and companies certainly have been assessing grades as if it is a big crop, he said.
"However, due to rainfall and disease pressure setting in, I don't think we have near the crop as what people once thought," Whaley said. "Growers have also been challenged from a quality standpoint.
"Tobacco companies desire a certain style, color, and flavor of tobacco used in producing tobacco products. Therefore our growers strive to provide them with quality tobacco so in turn they will hopefully receive a premium price. Producing quality tobacco has been a challenge due to the amount of rainfall early on. It typically gets better as they move on to upper-stalk positions."
It is hard to say what the tobacco yield will be he said.
"It will be an average crop," Whaley said.