First a Freeze; Now a Drought: Farmers suffer as crops wither
"That was the hardest thing that I ever did"
It's been an unusually tough year for farmers.
First, the Easter weekend freeze nearly devastated area crops. Now, a drought bakes them.
The double effect is testing the resolve and economic savvy of farmers, who expect and plan for hard times but didn't anticipate such a hard blow.
Though spotty rains have left isolated areas of the Catawba Valley green, state agriculture officials say Hickory is more than 14 inches below normal rainfall for the year, Lenoir nearly 12 inches. The N.C. Drought Management Council lists Burke, Caldwell and Catawba counties under a severe drought and Alexander County under a moderate drought. Read more
Read the Full Story:http://www.topix.com/county/alexander-nc
Alexander County News @ August 16, 2007
