DUPLIN COUNTY, N.C. — As the summer months heat up, farmers are always paying attention to the weather. 

And with hurricane season going through November, it's a constant reminder, that they can't control Mother Nature. 

 

What You Need To Know

  • Hurricane season runs from June through November  
  • The most active period in North Carolina is August into October  
  • Farmers are always paying attention to the storms and make sure they can get as much of their crop out of the ground as possible, before they make landfall   

 

The powerful storms impact everything, including when and how crops are planted.

"Early, our young corn ... can withstand stress better than a plant that is obviously and further along," said Krysle Owen with AJS farms in Duplin County.​

She runs AJS Farms with her husband AJ Searles and says rain is essential during the summer.

“Corn needs a lot of water. We cannot go without getting a few tenths or an inch or so periodically, couple times a week," Owen said.

Owen and Searles also take into consideration what kinds of row crop varieties they are planting each year.

“We can plant earlier maturing hybrids, and we can harvest our corn at high moistures and those are really the only two things you can do to protect yourself against a hurricane," Searles said.

During storms in the past, they lost some of their crops like pumpkins and corn. But they have found ways to recover.

"There are special attachments you can buy now to put on corn heads, and it's a slow miserable job, but you can pick this corn back up [after a storm]," Searles said. "It's just something you hate to do though, because you have so much more time and money invested in it.”

Time and money are precious on a farm, when you're working 365 days a year to get everything done. That's why Owen and Searles help other farmers with picking, planting and hauling. This is an extra extension of their business where they help others get as much of their crops out of the ground as possible before a big storm hits.

"Whatever we are called upon we try to help to the best of our abilities. Whether it's our tools or our time ... any resources that we can provide to help their farm, their families," Owen said. "We are so intertwined in the farming community anyways that I think it's important to continue to help your neighbor."

Hurricane season runs from June through November. The most active period in North Carolina is August into October. But a hurricane can make landfall at any time during the season.