A corn field that has been harvested and also food for cows since most of the crop was dying after excessive heat and dry conditions in June and wet weather in July.
                                 Alyssa Bergey | Sampson Independent

A corn field that has been harvested and also food for cows since most of the crop was dying after excessive heat and dry conditions in June and wet weather in July.

Alyssa Bergey | Sampson Independent

<p>Corn crops turning brown after the dry heat in June and rainy weather in July. Most farmers will not get a complete yield from their corn crops this year.</p>
                                 <p>Alyssa Bergey | Sampson Independent</p>

Corn crops turning brown after the dry heat in June and rainy weather in July. Most farmers will not get a complete yield from their corn crops this year.

Alyssa Bergey | Sampson Independent

While the month of June was hot and dry, July ushered in heavy rain, along with those near 100-degree temperatures, dropping the drought levels and replacing them with off-and-on flash flood warnings in parts of the county.

Data from the Horticultural Crops Research Station in Clinton showed that the total amount of rainfall from July 1 to July 26 was around 11.5 inches. And even then, there were only a few days with rainfall amounts that breached one inch.

So, what does that mean for the crops in Sampson County?

Last month, Zachary Parker, an extension agent for agriculture field crops from the NC Cooperative Extension, said that the high temperatures and little precipitation was a detriment to crops. Parker mentioned that the most affected by the heat was corn crops.

“Corn growers are the most affected. I’ve seen some corn that probably isn’t going to grow out of it, even if we do get some rain,” he said.

And now, the farmers have gotten the rain for their crops — but it might be too much.

Parker mentioned that the rain at the beginning was a help to the farmers in the area by relieving some of the drought stress on the plants.

“In the beginning, it kind of helped just relieve some of the drought stress for some of the crops,” he stated.

But now, he said, we’re getting to the point where it’s a “little bit too much water.”

The biggest problem this wet weather is bringing to the farmers is the diseases that are popping up more now due to the moist environment.

“There’s more disease popping up because you have more of a moist environment that’s more conducive to fungi and bacteria and things like that to grow,” Parker said.

He mentioned that tobacco would be a crop that could be more susceptible to disease with the wet weather.

“When (tobacco) gets more wet, you always run the risk of black shank or bacterial wilt and things like that,” Parker mentioned. “When it stays dry, it generally stays away, but it just depends.”

Luckily, if depending on how wet it is and if farmers are able to get into their fields, farmers can use their sprayers to get rid of the diseases that might be affecting the crops.

“It depends on how much rain you have and whether you can get in and out of your field at this point because there’s a lot of farmers that can be noticing some diseases, but they can’t physically get the sprayer into the field,” Parker said. “Of course, we have fungicides that can help with some types of diseases like your mold and leaf spot, but if you can’t get your sprayer into the field, it’s not gonna matter.”

But other crops, like vegetables, might have already succumbed to the high amounts of rain.

“Whenever the rain started coming back, tomatoes just started cracking, so that’s kind of a total loss,” he said.

Jason Tyndall, who owns his own farm in Sampson County, said 2024 has been a tough year for farmers.

“It’s very, very rough, to say the least. 2024 has been a very unusual growing season (going) from one extreme to the other,” Tyndall said. “Typically, we can handle one, but we can’t handle both.”

In June, many of the corn crops had been decimated due to the dry heat.

“The month of June was terribly hot and dry. Corn crop was basically decimated,” Tyndall plainly stated.

He said that for him, he was looking at maybe being able to harvest about 30 percent of his corn crop.

“We’re looking at maybe a 30 percent crop, 30 percent of a typical yield,” he said.

And with the rain in July, it hurt some of the later planted crops like soybean, and it was especially harmful to the double crops.

“It’s really hurt some of the later-planted soybean crops, especially the double crops,” Tyndall said.

As of right now, Tyndall said crop insurance will help them ease some of the pain from losing most of their crop, but many farmers have lost more money than they made in this growing season.

“We have crop insurance, but that just eases the pain. That does not put us back into black, but it eases the pain,” Tyndall said. “It helps us survive, I guess, is the best way to put it.”