91% of North Carolina corn is in fair condition, or worse

As drought continues to intensify in North Carolina, the corn crop is shriveling up. More than 90% of the state’s crop is in fair condition, or worse, according to USDA’s Crop Progress report published July 15.

Jeremy Petree has been in the crop insurance business for 15 years. “There will be a lot of claims paid this year,” he says. A farmer of 40-plus years and client recently remarked, “It’s never been this bad.”

Petree added, “I know there was some hope that the genetics of the corn crop would help it recover and surprise everyone, but I think it’s getting late enough that the corn crop is just not going to be there.”

According to the most recent Crop Progress report, 44% of North Carolina corn is in very poor condition, 29% is poor, 18% is fair, 9% is good. There is no excellent corn in the state.

Some farmers are attempting to salvage their corn crop by chopping it for silage, but that won’t be an option for everyone, says Petree. “There’s so much of it out there.”

On Monday USDA said 85% of North Carolina’s corn is silking, 3 percentage points ahead of both the five-year average and last year at this time.

The report noted 43% of the corn crop has reached the dough growth stage, significantly ahead of the 34% five-year average. Last year at this time 32% of North Carolina’s corn had achieved dough.

Farmer perspective

Kevin Matthews is a fourth-generation farmer in East Bend, North Carolina. “Our early corn is very rough, and the mid plantings are fair with the later just begging for rain before it tassels.”

He’s grateful for his irrigation, adding, “If a drip tape or sprinkler isn’t doing its job, the crop will show you quickly.”

Other North Carolina crops

Other North Carolina crops are struggling in the dry conditions, too. USDA rated 7% of soybeans very poor, 24% poor, 43% fair, and 26% good. There are no excellent soybeans in North Carolina.

Matthews says his soybean crop is holding on, but “the deer damage is horrendous. Wildlife are eating the crops faster than they can grow with such little moisture.”

Cotton is struggling, too. USDA rated 7% of North Carolina’s cotton crop very poor, 14% poor, 39% fair, 44% good, and 5% excellent.

North Carolina peanuts were rated 3% very poor, 9% poor, 38% fair, 46% good, and 4% excellent for the week ending July 14.

Pasture and range conditions in the state were rated 12% very poor, 43% poor, 32% fair, and 13% good. There was no excellent pasture reported in North Carolina.

Farmers are harvesting their second cutting of hay, but not as quickly as last year. USDA said 27% of second cutting was complete the week ending July 14. That’s well behind the five-year average of 38%.

Drought details

Drought has spread and intensified quickly over the last three months. At the beginning of April more than 88% of the state was free of drought stress.

The most recent drought maps, published July 11, 2024, show 100% of the state is suffering from moisture stress. D3 extreme drought covers a portion of Columbus County in the southern tip of the state. More than 19% of North Carolina reported D2 severe drought conditions. Almost 68% of the state is in D1 moderate drought. Nearly 12% of North Carolina is abnormally dry.

The Crop Progress report rated North Carolina topsoil moisture 15% very short, 34% short, 47% adequate, and 4% surplus. Subsoil moisture was rated 11% very short, 37% short, 51% adequate, and 1% surplus.

Crop insurance claims

Petree urges farmers with drought stricken crops to call their crop insurance agent promptly to get on their list. With such widespread losses in the state, “there’s a lot of corn that needs to be appraised,” he says.

It is important to call your crop insurance agent before you start chopping or destroying anything. It needs to be appraised first. “If a crop is destroyed before someone’s had a chance to take a look at it, then there’s really not a lot anyone can do,” explains Petree.

He adds, “Don’t be afraid to call your agent.” Crop insurance coverage is based on what production is actually harvested. “It’s not like car insurance where just turning something in and not getting any money out of it is going to increase your premium,” he says.