Eastern Shore farmers are feeling the heat amid statewide drought
MARYLAND — Farmers on the Eastern Shore say ongoing drought conditions are more than a dry spell; they are actively affecting the growing season.
Virgil Shockley, a farmer at Oak Shelter Farm, said, “We normally get about 40 inches of rainfall a year — 40 to 44 inches on the Delmarva Peninsula. From January until now, we’re about six inches down. The only good thing that happened was we had a 10-inch snow that replenished the soil somewhat.”
Shockley said his farm received about a tenth of an inch of rain from Wednesday night into Thursday morning. “We spread fertilizer April 10. It hadn’t had enough rain to even dissolve yet. Two inches of rain would dissolve the fertilizer,” he said.
Drought conditions have persisted since May 1, and Shockley is past his planting deadline.
“I basically almost cut what I was going to plant in corn in half and just said, ‘Okay, here’s the bag of seeds back; give me some soybeans and we’ll try that,’” he said.
Contributing to that decision are rising fertilizer costs, up about 60% over the past four years, from $495 to $810 a ton. Soybeans yield lower profits but require less water. With little relief in sight, Eastern Shore farmers are feeling the pressure.
When asked whether the corn would survive, Shockley said, “I wouldn’t bet on it. Mother Nature can give a lot of rain very quickly. But with this kind of wind and temperature, it will dry out very quickly.”
Elsewhere in Maryland, farmers are facing similar challenges.
Jaime Raley, president of the Maryland Farm Bureau, said, “The fertilizer is just going to sit there in its granular form. It’s not going to become plant-available. Consequently, these little sprouts that are coming up are not only stressed for lack of moisture but also for lack of nutrients.”
He added, “Microbes in the soil need water, just like anything else on this planet, to function. We rely on microbial action to break fertilizer down and make it available to plants.”
Moisture and nutrients are crucial for Maryland’s commodity crops, but farmers worry they may not meet demand.
Raley said, “The large poultry integrators are going to have to buy from foreign countries or ship it in by railcar if it’s available from out west. That translates into higher prices for consumers, because the integrators can’t absorb those costs.”
The numbers highlight how concerning the drought is for shore farmers, Raley said. “We sell at wholesale prices, and we generally have to take the price offered — that’s how the system works. The only saving grace we might have this year is the crop insurance program provided with assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It won’t make you profitable, but it might help you at least break even.”
Shockley added that farmers need at least two inches of steady rain for fertilizer to dissolve properly and give them a chance at a successful season.
