As an Extension agent, I get the opportunity to work with farmers while also enjoying the natural beauty of the region’s swamps, creeks, rivers, sounds, farmland and timberland.
Since the first day of spring, which was March 19th, signs of the new season have been showing up. Temperatures have been warming up, landscapes are changing from a dull gray to green color as trees and other plants dress themselves with new foliage, flowering plants are blooming, and many species of wildlife are giving birth to new life.
Truly spring is a time of new beginnings. As Toni Sorenson Brown, a mother of five children and writer, said quite succinctly, “Spring is far more than just a changing of seasons; it’s a rebirth of the spirit.” I agree.
During the winter, there is no hustle or bustle going on around farm shops or in farm fields. But don’t let that lack of activity fool you into thinking that nothing is going on.
During January and February, farmers are busy attending what I call “producer meetings.” Some of those meetings are sponsored by local agribusinesses to educate producers about their input products and crop-growing services. Many other meetings are conducted by the agents of local Extension centers and deal with topics such as crop management practices, pest management, and crop marketing. The information related to meeting attendees is based on research by scientists at institutions such as North Carolina State University.
Some growers also go to trade shows to see and learn about new technologies for planting and spraying pesticides, and harvesting and storing crops.
Once farmers have put together how they will plant, feed and take care of their crop, they wait anxiously to carry out their game plan. And then, once soil temperatures and soil moisture are favorable, farmers start planting.
The first crop to be planted in the region is Irish potato, which is also known as white potato. Potatoes are normally planted from late February to mid-to-late March. Right now, potato crops are at least a foot tall and some of the fields have started forming small potatoes underground.
The second crop to be planted is cabbage. Planting usually begins in mid-March and goes until late March. Some of the cabbage fields are almost at the “cup stage,” which is when the leaves begin to curl inward and form the cabbage head.
The planting of corn started about the first week in April. The earliest planted corn in the region right now is no bigger than a couple of inches tall.
Farmers started planting soybean — the region’s largest crop in terms of acres planted and total dollars generated — in mid-April and will continue planting until mid-July. There are some fields of soybean that have emerged but they are no more than an inch tall.
Although planted last fall between mid-October and early November, wheat right now is at the “head stage” and is flowering so that it can produce seed/grain. Oats, another small grain crop, are also forming a head that when mature, will produce grain that farmers will harvest.
Hay crops such as alfalfa and ryegrass are coming to life and will be harvested at least one or more times during the coming spring and summer months.
Northeastern North Carolina agriculture is so diverse that I have only mentioned the crops of major acreage. Other crops grown here are clary sage, rapeseed, sod/turfgrass, sweet potato, watermelon, muskmelon/cantaloupe, peaches, strawberry, and a number of other fruits and vegetables.
Farmers are facing an endless number of adversities such as poor prices for their crops, increasing production costs, and unknowns about the weather that determine whether they will have a crop to harvest.
But this spring — like every other spring — we’re seeing the rebirth of the spirit Ms. Brown mentioned and that farmers demonstrate as they plant and nurture the crops that provide our food and fiber and other products we so greatly need.
As a part of our jobs as employees of the NC Cooperative Extension, we are to provide research-based information that addresses the needs of the citizens of North Carolina. If you are confronted with issues that impact your quality of life, check us out, either at your local Extension center or if in Pasquotank County, the Pasquotank Extension Center at 1209 McPherson, Elizabeth City. The phone number is 252-338-3954.
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