CRISP — Farmers, agricultural officials and political leaders called for swift state and federal action Tuesday in response to drought conditions now affecting 60% of North Carolina.
“We’ve had what meteorologists call a ‘flash drought,’” said Bob Etheridge, a former congressman who now serves as the state executive director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency. “Which means temperatures soar and rain stops. We’ve had 90-degree-plus weather for like 15, 16 days and no rain in some places for over a month. That is a recipe for disaster for farmers.”
Etheridge, speaking at Tuesday’s news conference at Varnell Farms, said that despite some recent rain the corn crop across the state is “pretty well gone.”
“The tobacco crop is probably going to be hurt dramatically, and a lot of other crops are going to be short just because of this drought that is not yet over,” he said. “Just remember that, it is not yet over.”
U.S. Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., said he agrees.
“It’s not just a matter of one rain coming is going to take away the threat of drought nor the damages and the losses that have already occurred,” said Davis, who represents North Carolina’s 1st House District in Congress.