Rainy forecast worrying farmers

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — It’s not just wet roads and beach erosion that has many people worried. Farmers at Greenland Farms in Bolivia said they’ve had a rough year so far and this amount of rain will not help. Governor Pat McCrory echoed those concerns, as he briefed the media Thursday and Friday.

“The rain is having a pretty significant impact,” Henry Brukert said.

“It’s matting a lot of the foliage down to the ground we are not too sure if it will resurrect and go vertical again,” Burkert said.

Inches of rain falling, causing crop loss to go up.

“Kale, Chinese cabbage, most of our radish crops, collards even, they are all laying pretty flat not to mention what our water is doing in itself around those plants, that’s probably even worst,” Burkert said.

Burkert said farming is opportunist.

“You really only have one chance to make it right,” Burkert said.

North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said in a news conference Friday afternoon an estimated $9 million worth of peanuts will be lost due to the weather issues. Burkert said sweet potatoes have been planted but leaving them in the ground increases the potential for storage diseases.

“We have a field that was pretty and we’re not too sure what going to happen once everything shakes out,” Burkert said.

A situation that many farmers across the Tar Heel State are faced with.

Anyone with an agricultural emergency can call 1-866-645-9403 or click here.