Here’s how farmers in the Carolinas are dealing with unpredictable weather

CHESTER, S.C. — Katherine Belk started farming in 2017. The owner of Wild Hope Farm said she thinks about the weather all the time. 

“I like working, and I love tough problems, and I’ve never met a harder problem than farming,” Belk said.

This year those problems include the high temperatures in July and heavy rain in August.

For many farmers in the Carolinas, like Belk, it’s all in a day’s work.

“Because of the kind of variability in weather these days, we’ve invested heavily in the high tunnels. These allow us to grow year-round,” Belk said.

Growing inside high tunnels usually protects plants but can cause issues with runoff when it consistently rains. 

“We’re trying to prevent erosion, so right now what we’re trying to do is laying some drainage pipes on either end of the high tunnel,” Belk said.

The last several weeks produced several inches of rain, which damages uncovered crops.

“You can see clearly that this bed is eroding. You can see where the water, the heavy rains, where the soil was moved from the bed,” Belk said.

At Wild Hope Farm they grow in succession, so the next round of crops will hopefully be healthier, but handling the impacts of weather can be difficult.

“Incredibly frustrating,” Belk said. “I woke up at 4, just stressed about the weather. The fact that we’re going to be like two weeks behind on our fall plantings.” 

Tough weather conditions even impact the distribution side of farming. Belk sells at farmers markets, community-supported agriculture and wholesale.

“When our crops are suffering, we have fewer yields, lower yields, and it means that we make less money from whole-selling,” Belk said.

That’s why she says it’s crucial to support local farmers and even restaurants that sell locally grown food.   

“It is just really, really challenging to grow, to farm in today’s weather climate and so we need all of the support we can get, and it really does make all the difference to have the community at your back,” Belk said.

She said to support farmers, go to farmer’s markets. Buy local produce, eggs and meat. 

This time of year, with hurricane season, conditions for farmers can be unpredictable. Last year with Helene, Wild Hope Farm lost about 80% of its fall crops.

Belk said there’s not much you can do to prepare for weather like a hurricane, so the farm is hoping for the best this hurricane season.