Days of pounding 100-plus degree heat have taken their toll on Pittsylvania County’s crops.
The hot temperatures have led to an anticipated 20-25 percent drop in corn yield and a 10-15 percent reduction in tobacco, said Stephen Barts, extension agent with the Virginia Cooperative Extension.
"The tobacco and corn crops have suffered tremendously,” Barts said Tuesday.
![]()
Until two weeks ago, the county looked forward to one of its better years for those crops in recent memory, Barts said.
"Heat and drought conditions have set it back greatly,” Barts said.
The region’s farmers are coping with the abnormally dry conditions the best way they know how. They talked about their challenges during the grand opening of the Virginia Grown Farmer’s Market at the Olde Dominion Agricultural Complex on Saturday.
Rusty and Betsy East, owners and operators of White Oak Mountain Meadery in Shockoe, also grow corn, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, zucchini squash, blackberries, jalapenos and cucumbers. The heat has destroyed some of their corn, Rusty said.
If farmers don’t have a way to water their crops, they won’t yield anything of quality, East said. How are the Easts dealing with the heat? “We’re watering a lot more,” he said.
Renee Williams, co-owner of the family-run The Homeplace Vineyard in Chatham, said the heat wave hasn’t greatly affected their crops, which also include potatoes, onions, corn, tomatoes and squash. However, a recent hailstorm damaged some of their grapes, said vineyard co-owner Mary Smith.
Harry Ferrell, who owns Cherry Hill Farms in Turbeville in Halifax County, said of the parched conditions, “We need rain bad, real bad.”
Ferrell, who grows, squash, blackberries, zucchini, string beans, beets and cantaloupe, said he is not getting his normal yield due to the heat. He said he plans on irrigating next year.
As for Pittsylvania County’s corn, the weather has made it appear peaked, turning its leaves chalky white, Barts said. The heat causes the corn plant to abort its kernels in a struggle to maintain its current mass and survive, Barts said.
The majority of the county’s approximately 7,000 acres of corn — the amount expected before the stretch of hot weather — includes silage, a form of feed for dairy animals, Barts said. More extreme conditions will only further diminish the yield.
"That number [20-25 percent] is moving higher every day,” Barts said.
A dairy cow has to eat regardless of yield and extended dry weather could force dairy farmers to purchase silage outside the county, Barts said.
The Midwest is experiencing drought conditions too and the weather is causing corn and bean prices to increase due to dwindling supply, Barts said. Grain, soybean and wheat prices are increasing as well, Barts said.
As for tobacco, about 6,000 acres have been planted in Pittsylvania County this year. It is a more resilient crop than corn, but those farmers needs more rain too, Barts said. Due to high temperatures and low humidity, irrigation is not sustaining tobacco like it normally would, Barts said.
The oppressive conditions make it harder for tobacco plants to produce larger, fuller leaves, Barts said. Temperatures reaching 105 degrees will bake the plants’ leaves, reducing their quality, Barts said.
The county has also seen significant wind and hail damage to tobacco, he said.
"Mother Nature has been fairly unkind in recent weeks,” Barts said. Enditem
