Rain not good news for Wayne area farmers
By Steve Herring
Published in News on October 9, 2016 1:45 AM
The heavy rainfall Hurricane Matthew dumped on eastern North Carolina this weekend was not welcome news for Wayne County farmers, already mired down in soggy fields.
Wind that accompanied the storm could also impact any corn still in the field as well as soybeans.
The county's tobacco yield particularly already had taken a hard hit by the one-two punch of punishing August heat and September downpours.
Also, commodity prices continue to be depressed, Wayne County Extension Service Director Kevin Johnson said.
Wayne County's average annual rainfall is approximately 43 to 45 inches. One quarter of that -- 10 inches -- fell in September alone, he said.
"Out at Cherry Farm in the month of September we had just a little less than 10 inches of rain," Johnson said. "Of course we had a couple of big (rain) events. Sept. 2 was a big event -- three and a quarter inches of rain that month.
"I can tell you, too, that particular storm I know out there at Hood Swamp they were getting over 5 inches, and up toward the wildlife pond going toward Greene County it was a big, big rain event."
The county enjoyed about 10 rain-free days, but around Sept. 19 and 20 it started raining again, he said.
Within four days another 2 inches of rain had fallen, followed by 3 more inches at the end of the month.
"We have soybeans, cotton, there is a little bit of corn (in the field), but most of the corn has been picked," Johnson said. "Tobacco for the most part, they are wrapping it up. Not by choice either. All of this rainfall in the month of September, especially the big ones, that was the beginning of the end of our tobacco crop.
"Some of the heat we had in August, and then you throw on those big rains, the tobacco crop started deteriorating. So we went from having a potentially really good tobacco crop to very few of our farmers are going to make their pounds. They didn't even meet their goals with their crop."
Growers were shooting for on average about a 2,500-pound crop, he said. It is probably going to end up being a 2,000-pound crop, Johnson said.
"A few farmers are going to meet their pounds, but most are not," he said.
Tobacco prices have been averaging around $1.90 a pound, he said.
"But of course their yields are off," he said. "I wouldn't even call it an average year. They are kind of depressed because they didn't get their yields."
Corn is another story, he said,
"The corn crop was excellent with the exception with one area basically down Indian Springs Road from say Dudley back to Seven Springs," Johnson said. "They didn't get the rain when they needed it, and they didn't have a corn crop. The rest of the county did fairly well."
Corn and soybeans still in the field shouldn't suffer because of any additional rain, but wind could be a problem, he said.
"Wind could blow the corn down," Johnson said. "It could blow the soybeans down, and that could be a problem. But at this stage I think we will be OK. But we are going to need it to dry out pretty soon as we try to start harvesting this stuff."
Farmers are "struggling" to get equipment in the fields, he said.
"Even with tobacco croppers at this point most of the farmers are wrapping it up," Johnson said. "In a lot of cases they are out there having to crop by hand right now just because they can't get their machines out there."
Some peanuts have been dug, but most of them that haven't should be fine, he said.
"Cotton, of course, once the bolls start opening every time it rains on it, it hurts the quality," he said. "So really we are getting to the point now we have had enough rain to make the crops. We don't need to worry about rain.
"We are going to need about a good month of harvest weather. Probably need more than that so the soybean crop, we will harvest it all the way up to November. We really need a couple good months of not extreme rainfall."
Corn prices are down because of a very good crop in the Midwest, he said.
"I think farmers are probably going to average $3.50 (per bushel) on corn," Johnson said. "It is not good on corn. They are not going to get rich off corn this year. They are not hardly going to make any profit. They have to plant a crop. They hope for the best. They may make a little money, but not much.
"Of course the farmers down in the Seven Springs back to the Dudley area, they are not going to make anything. It was really bad for them. Prices are hurting us right now -- commodity prices."
Prices for cotton and soybeans are set, while a worldwide glut of cotton has caused the cost to drop.
"Soybean prices aren't terrible," he said. "If we can get good yields. Right now we have potential as long as we can get the crop out (of the field). But cotton prices are down. They are way down. I don't feel good about the cotton crop as far as profitability.
"It (crop) looks pretty good, but a good crop with poor prices doesn't pay the bills."