Moderate drought puts strain on sunflower farms

BURGAW, NC (WWAY) — A picturesque place in Pender County is working hard to stay beautiful despite some trying conditions.

Sunflowers require very little maintenance in the right setting.

But the moderate drought these past few weeks has put a strain on sunflower farmers like Michael Lanier and his family at Old River Farms in Burgaw.

He said they almost never need to irrigate at their farm, but this year they’ve run their irrigation pond almost dry.

“We do have a lot of irrigation and wells in place all over the farm to make sure that whenever these type of events happen we’re prepared for them,” Lanier said. “We have plenty of water for our animals and plenty of water for the plants up front and for the greenhouses.”

Lanier said visitors won’t notice a difference in their experience this summer, despite the measures they’ve had to take