NAICC: Farming Challenges of 2020 in Northeast North Carolina
by Matt Winslow, NAICC President
Farming in Northeast North Carolina has come with many sets of challenges in 2020. Our winter was very mild however a late spring freeze caused variability in wheat yields depending on maturity. Yields ranged from 40 to 100 bu/acre.
Most of our corn crop was planted timely in late March to late April, however an extremely wet, cold May followed by a hot and dry July along with high winds in August caused significant damage in a lot of our acres. In many cases the difference in variety selection or a week difference in planting date played a dramatic role in how much damage the crop sustained. Yields varied from 60-250 bu/acre depending on how the hot and dry weather interacted with the crop during pollination or how tender the stalks were during the heavy winds in August.
Our cotton crop was either planted early or late. The middle of May was extremely cool and wet which prevented planting after May 7. Cotton planted prior to that faced a lot of early season stress but was able to make it through and should be a good crop. Most farmers didn’t start planting again until after May 27 and many acres did not go in the ground until after the June 1. The late cotton crop has just been defoliated and the crop will be variable depending on variety and plant bug pressure.
We had a very wide range of soybean planting dates this season. Some farmers elected to plant beans ahead of corn in April, but most beans were delayed by the same weather that impacted cotton planting. A large portion of our soybean acres were planted in late June and July, because mid-June was too wet. Overall, we expect good yields across our soybean acres.
Every year is different, but we always adapt and survive. I pray that all areas have a safe harvest and a profitable crop.
