Farmers and agricultural producers have been reminded to focus on preventing crop damage as well as report to insurance agents any crop damage that occurred.
Whether it’s taking part of the growing U.S. fencing market — which is forecasted to reach $11.5 billion by 2024 — for keeping unwanted intruders and animals from wandering onto your crop fields, recovering from major storm damage, or providing crops quality nutrients, it’s essential to focus on preventing any and all agricultural damage.
According the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statics Service, farmers across Maryland have experienced extended wet weather conditions, as much as 14 inches of rain in some areas, which has resulted in an overall surplus level of topsoil and subsoil moisture. It’s recommended that any Maryland farmer, as well as any agricultural producer across the country, report any crop damage instances to crop insurance agents.
There are six primary nutrients that plants require, including carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen are all delivered by air and water, but too much water can significantly damage crop fields.
It’s not just Maryland rainfall that has jeopardized crops across the United States. According to Fresh Plaza, Storm Alberto, the first tropical storm of the season, has already caused major damage to vegetable crops across Florida, Alabama, and Georgia.
The storm brought significant rainfall and strong winds that have destroyed farms across the coast of the Florida panhandle, Alabama, North Carolina, and Georgia.
“There has been a lot of rain, estimated at up to eight to ten inches,” said Bill Gable, owner of Gable Enterprises in Grand Ridge, Florida. “We’ve sustained major damage to our vegetable crops, from both the excessive rain and the wind. The crops affected include crookneck squash, summer squash, bell peppers, and beans. We also grow corn but it’s hard to tell if that has suffered any harm. It will take a few days before we are able to assess those crops. We suspect that some tomato growers in the region may have also suffered damage.”
Watermelons, which are an extremely popular crop in the southeast at the moment, have not suffered too much physical damage from the storm. But watermelon production has already been impacted because farmers aren’t able to access their crop yields to harvest.
WSPA adds that a family farm in North Carolina fears that all their crops are already ruined.
Due to flooding from Alberto, water has significantly damaged crops across Johnson Family Farms in Flat Rock, North Carolina. The owners of the farm are planning on assessing the overall crop damage next week, but if any of the harvest is salvageable, there’s a chance even those crops have been contaminated by flood water.
“I mean it’s hard because that was our first crop, our first planting of it,” said Kelli Campbell, owner. “Now we usually do more planting’s so that we can make profit later. But this first crop was kind of ruin.”
Make sure to prepare your farm for any storm-related issue this year and keep your crops as healthy and strong as possible.