Content Detail

• Content META

  Title	FALL FARM 2024: 'One catastrophe after another' for Orangeburg row crops'
  ID	4406851
  External ID	7248543974
  Author	Gene Zaleski
  Published Date	Oct. 25, 2024, 11:05 p.m.
  Summary	Orangeburg County farmer Harry Wimberly has been farming for 60 years. He has seen just about all there is to see when it comes to farming. Until 2024. "I don't know of any worse year since 1977,"
  Tags	None
  URL	https://thetandd.com/news/local/business/row-crops-orangeburg-disaster/article_993d8cc8-6c62-11ef-8f29-b3aebec01261.html
  Sentiment	Negative: 0.73932    Neutral: 0.23917    Positive: 0.02151
  Relevance	0.00000

• Content Details

  Content ID	2624326
  Key	08efcac7-0232-40bb-bab8-bd45b0fb1a52
  Content	Orangeburg County farmer Harry Wimberly has been farming for 60 years. He has seen just about all there is to see when it comes to farming. Until 2024. "I don't know of any worse year since 1977," Wimberly said. That year saw the South experience one its worst droughts in a quarter of a century. This year local farmers had to compete with drought and deluge. "Corn is a complete disaster," he said. "The hurricane laid the cotton down. The army worms ate all the hay. It has been one catastrophe after another. It never ended." Wimberly farms with his son, Thad, and grandson, Harrison, primarily in the southern portion of the county around Branchville. The men grew corn, cotton, soybeans, sesame and hay. The growing season got off on the wrong foot for corn. Dry and hot conditions pretty much wiped out the dryland corn crop and even irrigated corn struggled, Wimberly said. "The heat was so bad and the pivots are so big by the time the pivot got around to the corn, the corn wilted back and didn't fully pollinate," Wimberly said, noting as a result the corn crop was stunted. "It was nothing like it was supposed to be. The heat was so bad you couldn't keep enough water on it to make a crop." Wimberly said red tape that farmers have to go through to benefit from crop insurance adds insult to injury. "They have no problem collecting premiums but when you try to collect insurance, it becomes a problem," he said. When asked if any money was made in farming this year, Wimberly said, "absolutely not." "Commodity prices are down and the cost of production is up," Wimberly said. "When it comes to repairs, it is just out of sight right now." For example, Wimberly said when he started farming, a part that now costs $50 cost $5 and tractors that cost $10,000 now cost $250,000. Commodity prices have not kept up with input costs. Wimberly said that 40 years ago, he sold corn for $3 a bushel. Today, corn is selling for about $4.30 a bushel. "It is tough for an old guy to keep going with those kind of numbers," Wimberly said. The Wimberlys tried to grow about 100 acres of sesame for the second straight year. It was not like the first year of the crop as the contract price has gone down. Wimberly said whether he will grow sesame for a third year remains to be seen. "It depends on what comes out of the field this year and it depends on what yields we get," Wimberly said. Peanuts are picked in Orangeburg County on Bull Swamp Road east of the Town of North. About 13,000 acres of peanuts were planted in Orangeburg… Wimberly said sesame is attractive because the deer do not like it, but he thinks deer will "begin to cultivate" a taste for the crop in the future. "Years ago they used to not eat cotton," Wimberly said. "Now they do." Frog Level Farm row crop farmer Jim Traywick in Cope grew corn, cotton and peanuts. He echoed Wimberly's assessment. "It was a very up-and-down year," Traywick said. "We started out with early drought, which hurt the corn." Traywick estimates he made perhaps 50 to 60% of the corn crop. "The prices are depressed on that," he said. "We have an oversupply of corn in this country and in the world generally. We may get a little help on insurance on the corn and for the drought." Traywick said at $40,000 a year for insurance, "It is not cheap, but it comes in handy quite often." It got worse. He said Hurricane Debby brought about 10 inches of rainfall to his farm, which flooded out the peanut crop. Then there was another drought and Hurricane Helene. "It was a four-step deal," he said. As for Hurricane Helene, Traywick said much of the damage he sustained was cosmetic. "We had some cotton on the ground," he said. "About 10% of the cotton crop was down because of the wind. The cotton was beat up a little bit." "We can still make a fair cotton crop," Traywick said. "It was not as good as it could have been." He said his peanuts survived relatively well through Helene. Peanut prices are also one of the few bright spots for commodities. "The peanuts are the only price that was not down," Traywick said. Overall, Traywick said, "It will be hard to break even this year." "We may break even if we consider the insurance settlements, if we get them," Traywick said. "This will come into play with the corn and maybe some for the cotton. This is going to be a marginal year income wise anyway because of the lower prices on the commodities." North Farmer Jeffrey Axson described the year as "challenging." Axson, who grew corn, cotton and soybeans, said the dryland corn was damaged by a dry start during the early summer and then both Debby and Helene blew down cotton. During Debby, the winds blew the plant down and during Helene the plant was open and ready to be picked. "It was enough where we will notice it in yields," Axson said. Soybeans are the only crop that really benefited from the rains, with Axson anticipating an average harvest. Axson said input costs are "ever increasing" amid multiyear-low commodity prices. Providence farmer Dean Hutto summarized what kind of year it has been for local farmers. "I will be glad to see 2025 and hope it will be better than 2024," he said. Hutto grew about 1,300 acres of corn (700 irrigated); 500 acres of cotton (all dryland); 800 acres of soybeans (250 irrigated); and 425 acres of peanuts (150 irrigated). "2024 has been the hardest farming year I personally have ever been through," Hutto said. "We fought mud to get the corn in. Then it didn't rain for what seemed like an eternity. Then Debby came through and we had to fight the mud again. Then it turned bone dry for about a month and then Helene kind of slowed us down." For Hutto, all of this meant a "mixed bag" of crop success. He said his irrigated corn was good and dryland corn's success was dependent on being lucky enough to receive rainfall. "Cotton seems to be average. We lost some in Debby and some more in Helene," Hutto said. "Soybeans are kind of up in the air. We will have to see how much the long periods of drought affect them." "Peanuts were looking awesome but then were burned up dry over the summer, flooded during Debby, and then suffered filling out in the long dry period afterwards," Hutto said. The stories of Wimberly, Traywick, Axson and Hutto are being experienced throughout Orangeburg County. "Tough" was the one word Orangeburg County Clemson Extension Agent Jonathan Croft used to describe the 2024 growing season. "Weather-related issues and low commodity prices have everyone ready to be done with 2024 crops," Croft said. "At this time, farmers are just trying their best to hold it together and harvest what crops they have been able to produce this year." The wild growing season wreaked havoc. "It affected the yield potential of all the other dryland crops," Croft said. "Then tropical storm rain flooded places in some fields across the area." "The flooding also caused delays in timely applications of crop protectants," he said. Debby was not the last tropical system that local growers had to face this year. Hurricane Helene in late September dropped between 8 and 10 inches of rain in parts of the county. Helene's impact has delayed the peanut and cotton harvest in these areas. The hurricane also caused some soil erosion on sloped fields. Helene did bring some good news. "The rainfall was actually a help to soybeans and peanuts in areas that were not inundated," Croft said. "Dry conditions had set back in across the area and it was making peanut inversion difficult, and soybeans had all but stopped filling out pods." Croft said from farmers he has talked to on the eastern side of the county, crop damage was minimal. If Debby and Helene were not enough, Croft said armyworms have also been tough on hay and pastures this year. At the time of this writing, the peanut harvest had just begun and harvest had yet to begin on cotton or soybeans. Here is a rundown of local crops grown in Orangeburg County this year Corn (non-irrigated) Roughly 20,000 acres of non-irrigated corn was planted with dryland corn yields ranging from 0 bushels an acre to about 140 bushels per acre. Croft said farmers like to see dryland corn average over 100 bushels per acre. The killer for dryland corn was the double whammy of drought and high temperatures during the primary corn-growing period. "There were very few spots that will hit the high end of the yields ... for dryland corn," Croft said. Corn prices have dropped like other commodities and through the early part of September were trading about $4.09 per bushel below the desired $6.50 and above. Corn (irrigated) Roughly 8,000 acres of irrigated corn were planted. The expected average irrigated corn yield was to come in at about 230 bushels per acre below the desired 250-plus. "An abundance of sunlight was beneficial to the irrigated corn, but with this comes lack of rainfall, so that is where the dryland suffered," Croft said. Croft said irrigated corn generally fared well "unless the systems couldn't keep up with water-use requirements this year," Croft said. Croft said there were no major disease or insect issues in corn during the growing season. Peanuts runner (non-irrigated and irrigated) Roughly 8,500 acres of runner peanuts were planted in the county, of which 2,000 acres were irrigated and 6,500 were non-irrigated. As of the writing, the peanut harvest had not begun. For irrigated runner peanuts, farmers want to see between 5,000 to 6,000 pounds per acre. For dryland runner peanuts, growers would like to see average yields in the 3,500 to 4,000 pounds per acre. Though harvest had yet to begin, Croft said his expectations are that the crop would come in at or below average because of drought conditions during the summer. "Rain from Tropical Storm Debby hurt some of the crop but helped most of it," Croft said, adding that some peanut fields were drowned out. "Without that rain, we would have had a bad dryland crop." Insect and disease pressure was average to below average in peanuts and there has been no detrimental effect on the crop, Croft said. Peanuts Virginia (non-irrigated and irrigated Roughly, 4,500 acres of Virginia peanuts were planted, of which 70% were irrigated. Like runner peanuts, harvest had yet to begin on Virginia peanuts at the time of this writing. Croft said farmers would like to see irrigated yields be 5,000 to 6,000 pounds per acre and dryland yields be between 3,500 to 4,000 pounds per acre. The Virginia peanuts also suffered from summer drought conditions and drowned out fields during the tropical systems. Virginia peanuts did suffer some from late leaf spot, which defoliated some of the crop. "The fields affected were not treated with foliar fungicides on time due to Tropical Storm Debby," Croft said. "Affects on yield are yet to be seen, but if defoliation occurs at a high level before plants are dug, harvest losses could be high in some fields." Cotton (irrigated, non-irrigated) Roughly 25,000 acres of cotton were planted in the county, of which 1,000 acres were irrigated. Cotton harvest had yet to begin at the time of this writing but Croft said yield potential "looks to be all over the board." "Farmers would like to see irrigated cotton yielding in the 2.5 to 3.5 bales-per-acre range," Croft said. "Farmers would like to see dryland cotton yielding in the 1.5 to 2.5 bales-per-acre range." Croft said Mother Nature has had the greatest impact on the cotton crop. "A wet start, followed by drought conditions had already negatively impacted the cotton potential before Tropical Storm Debby," he said. "Winds and rain from Debby have twisted and laid over some cotton." The situation could impact cotton harvest. After cotton was battered by Debby, Helene also did a number on the crop. "Cotton on the western side of Orangeburg County had lint blown out," Croft said. "In fields I have looked at, blown out lint on the low end is 5 to 10% and on the high end, it is 20% to 30%." Croft said he expects there were fields with higher amounts blown out the closer one gets to Aiken County, where more wind damage occurred. For the most part, insect and disease pressure was about average for the year, Croft said. Cotton prices too were low, having fallen to about 73 cents a pound since planting. This is below where farmers would like to see cotton at about 95 cents per pound or higher. Soybeans (non-irrigated and irrigated) About 22,000 acres of soybeans were planted, of which less than 1,000 acres were irrigated. As with other row crops, soybean harvest had not begun at the time of this writing. But Croft said he expects yields to be below average across the board due to drought and high temps during flowering. "Also dry conditions during pod fill are severely impacting yield potential," Croft said. Farmers would like to see dryland yields averaging 40 bushels per acre and irrigated fields averaging 60-plus bushels per acre, Croft said. Drought conditions had the biggest impact on soybean yield potential in 2024. Soybeans also experienced insect pressure. "There were some areas that grass hoppers were an issue early on in the growing season," Croft said. "We also had some areas that worms developed a little earlier than expected, but for the most part, insect and disease pressure has been average." Croft said soybean prices dropped during the growing season and have started to rebound a few cents. Soybeans were trading on the board for $10.05 per bushel below the $13 a bushel and higher where farmers would like to see them. Sesame About six farmers grew sesame this year. Croft said there were less than 1,000 acres planted and it was all non-irrigated. The crop was not harvested at the time of this writing, though Croft said yield potential appears to be less than the crop's inaugural 2023 season due to drought conditions and poor stands. "Drought conditions at planting and then the flooding rain from Tropical Storm Debby caused some of the sesame to be drowned out," Croft said. Croft said while there were no significant diseases or insects in sesame during the year, if more acres are grown and there is crop rotation on to land that has a history of sesame, then disease pressure may become an issue. In addition, sesame prices are lower than in 2023. "Due to this being a relatively new crop, I don't have a handle on exactly were the price really needs to be," Croft said. Croft said based on yield from 2023 and the intended planted acres for 2024, the county will see some more sesame in 2025. Wheat (grain) Roughly 4,000 acres were planted in Orangeburg County, with yields ranging from 45 up to 80 bushels per acre. He said farmers would love to see wheat averaging 75-plus bushels per acre. Timely winter rains and then dry conditions during harvest helped the crop, Croft said. The biggest issue facing wheat was the Hessian fly problems. Wheat prices were around $6 per bushel, below the $7.50 or higher per bushel that farmers would like, Croft said. Inputs and commodity prices Overall, Croft said some input costs for certain ag production products have fallen in comparison to last year. "Commodity prices also dropped off during the 2024 growing season, which is going to be a double hit to South Carolina growers and a lot of growers across the Southeast that were negatively impacted by drought conditions," Croft said. "There has been a slight upturn in commodity trading prices in the last week or so, but it is very slight and they have been trading flat recently." According to ag market information provider DTN, fertilizer prices generally continued to be lower than they were a year ago. DAP is 5% higher, while MAP is 8% higher looking back to last year. The remaining six fertilizers are lower. 10-34-0 is 3% lower, both potash and UAN28 are 9% less expensive, anhydrous is 10% lower, UAN32 is 13% lower and urea is 14% lower. DAP (diammonium phosphate) had an average price of $740/ton; MAP (monoammonium phosphate); $814/ton, potash $459/ton, urea $485/ton, 10-34-0 (simplot liquid ammonium phosphate) $594/ton; anhydrous $685/ton, UAN28 $320/ton; and UAN32 $351/ton. Hemp Hemp is a crop that generally has not caught on in Orangeburg, Calhoun or Bamberg counties. The Clemson Extension agent for new and emerging crops, David B. DeWitt said there are still some growers with permits in Orangeburg County. But there are no longer any permitted growers in Calhoun or Bamberg counties. The Farm Service Agency shows only 6.99 acres certified in Orangeburg County. "The markets are still down for flower and CBD; few growers are finding success with their in-house projects selling directly to consumers," DeWitt said. The interest has dwindled over the years since farmers were allowed to grow the crop in 2018. Last year, there were about 20 permitted growers of hemp in Orangeburg, Calhoun and Bamberg counties. Last year, about 52 acres of the crop were planted in Orangeburg County. There were no acres planted in Bamberg or Calhoun counties, according to the South Carolina Department of Agriculture. DeWitt said the future of the crop is uncertain. "Most have moved away from the idea of hemp being a farm saver or get-rich-quick idea," DeWitt said. "The focus of most hemp growers now seems to trend toward fiber and grain, and less toward floral." "Infrastructure is still far behind, but progress is being made with some fiber growth and processing just across the border in North Carolina," DeWitt said. "Several farmers still hang on to permits as they look forward to possible marijuana legalization in South Carolina." While individual farmers have not latched onto growing hemp, work does continue locally with the crop in other ways. South Carolina State University continues to do work. The university has a 100-acre research farm in Olar in Bamberg County where it grows different varieties of the crop and tests the hemp for its usefulness in a variety of everyday products. Also, Charleston-based BrightMa Farms announced in 2022 that it was planning to build a $50 million hemp-research-and-production innovation center on 85 acres on Farnum Road, located off Columbia Road north of Orangeburg. The company has broken ground on the facility. It envisions hemp to be grown and processed large-scale to be used in advanced manufacturing and by major automotive companies to replace plastic, textiles, fuel and concrete. The company was partnering with S.C. State's 1890 Research and Extension to make the project a reality. The 85-acre tract will eventually include multiple units that will revolve around a state-of-the-art breeding program and is to include both indoor and outdoor facilities, laboratories, greenhouses, and processing and breeding facilities. Statewide, there were only four permitted hemp processors and none of them was in the T&D Region, according to the SCDA. There were nine processors last year. There was only one hemp-permitted facility in the state, down from two for 2023, according to the SCDA. The federal Farm Bill signed into law in 2014 approved the growth of hemp for research purposes in the states that allow it. S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster signed the bill into law in May 2018 making it legal for farmers to grow the crop. The law defines industrial hemp as any part of the plant with a THC concentration that does not exceed .3% on a dried-weight basis. Anything above that is considered marijuana and is illegal in the state. Overview Agriculture continues to be a leading industry in Orangeburg County and employs a lot of residents. According to the 2022 Census of Agriculture, Orangeburg County is home to 764 farms consisting of about 230,111 acres. The average size of a farm is 301 acres. These numbers are down from the 2017 census of 978 farms but up in the average farm size by 1 acre. The 2012 census reported an average farm size of 268 acres. The 2017 numbers bucked a decade-long trend of smaller farms. Overall, Orangeburg County ranked first in South Carolina in total market value of crops sold at $136.1 million and third in total market value of products sold when including livestock and poultry at $303.7 million. The county ranked second in the state for the most cotton sold at $30.2 million (30 of the state's 46 counties grow cotton) and second in sales in nursery, greenhouse, floriculture, sod at $39.97 million (44 of the state's 46 counties grow these crops). The county's largest crops in planted acres in descending order are cotton, corn, soybeans, peanuts and hay. The agricultural census data is taken every five years. The census data was released in February 2024. Contact the writer: gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5551. Check out Zaleski on Twitter at @ZaleskiTD. Related to this story Low commodity prices and roller-coaster weather swings that threw everything but the kitchen sink at Calhoun County farmers made for a challen…
  Content Reference URL	None

• Publisher

  Publisher Name	Orangeburg Times and Democrat (SC) (#2448)
  Publisher URL	https://thetandd.com/
  Description	None
  Trust Flow Score	49
  Citation Flow Score	36

• Data Source

  Data Source Name	Quantexa News (#5)
  Data Source Type	news
  Data Source URL	https://app.aylien.com/dashboard
  Description	Welcome to Quantexa News API — the most powerful way to aggregate, filter, and integrate global news data into your apps and models.
  Weight	10