CALDWELL COUNTY, N.C. — Several communities in the Foothills are under water restrictions because of the drought, and the lack of rain has had a significant impact on farmers across North Carolina.
As a result, Caldwell County growers are taking drastic measures this spring.
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Channel 9’s Dave Faherty was at a field on Monday that is usually filled with barley.
However, the farmers had to cut the crop down because it produced half of what it did in a normal year.
Residents said this is one of the worst droughts in the spring growing season that they’ve ever seen.
Johnny Wilson and his family have been farming this land near Sawmills since the early 1900s.
Over the last couple of months, he said the rainfall deficit is approaching 10-12 inches.
He said his pastures have also dried up, forcing the family to feed hay to the cows as they do in the winter.
He’s very worried about being able to plant corn for this summer.
“We got sweet corn we need to plant, because we sell a lot of sweet corn,” Wilson said. “We can’t plant because the ground is so hard, it won’t go in the ground. If we could get it in the ground, it won’t germinate because the ground is so hard.”
The farmers hope for more rain, but it would take a lot of rainfall to make up the deficit.
“It’s just a hard time for everybody, right now,” said Clay Wilson, son. “We got some other farmers who are having to file their wheat on their insurance because it ain’t going to make grain production.”
In Alexander County, Mary Ann Icenhour has been farming all her life. She and her daughter have nearly 200 acres and they, too, must cut their barley.
“We’ve got to have (rain) now,” she said. “Corn is going in the ground. Soybeans are going in the ground. If you seed the soybean and don’t get rain in three days, you can kiss it good-bye.”