Crops left to twist in the wind

In his 25 years of growing vegetables, Jacksonville farmer Eddie Ketchum has seen his share of hurricanes. And if forecasters predictions are correct, he’s going to see a lot more this year.

With between 12 and 17 Atlantic storms predicted this hurricane season, farmers hope their crops will make it. Ketchum realizes they may not.

“Anytime you have hard gusty winds, your crops are going to be destroyed,” he said. “Those crops cannot endure those 100 mile-per-hour winds, and the salty air that will come in with the sea breeze.”

Onslow County Agriculture Extension Agent Tray Bridgers said all crops are susceptible to hurricane damage, but two crops are especially vulnerable: tobacco and corn.

“Tobacco is extremely vulnerable to wind damage because it is a large upright plant with big leaves that make it a prime suspect for lodging,” he said. “Although corn does have prop roots that help the tall plant withstand some winds, they are no match for hurricane-force winds.”

Bridgers said tobacco is unique because if the crop is lodged and the stalk is not broken, the plants can be stood back up and somewhat salvaged. But once it has blown over and stood back up, it usually cannot be harvested mechanically.

Bridgers said that unlike tobacco, corn can’t be stood up, and farmers must do their best when harvesting these damaged crops.

Bridgers suggested farmers try to plant and harvest their crops early to minimize storm damage.

“Although some years this does not help because either the storm comes before the crops are ready to harvest, or we have a year like this year and the weather does not permit the growers to get an early start,” he said. “The only thing I can recommend is to get as early a start as possible to be productive, and try to get your crops out of the field as soon as possible.”

Bridgers also recommends farmers eligible for crop insurance fill out all the necessary paperwork by the deadline.

Ketchum said crop damage is a concern, but he can only worry about it so much.

“There’s not really much you can do about it but be prayed up and paid up,” he said.