North Carolina Weekly Crop Survey – May 24, 2026
Drought Impact Analysis From Extension Agents Across the State
Drought Impact (County Reported)
Select a level to isolate it on the map.
Comment Signal
Worsening / crop stress intensifying
Some relief / conditions improving
Uneven rainfall / mixed conditions
Persistent drought / little change
Map of county-reported drought impact
Every county on this map is listed, grouped by impact level, at the end of this page under “View county data as a list”.
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Statewide Trends
Multiple counties across regions report extreme or severe drought levels, causing stress to a broad set of crops.
Hay and pasture production is notably reduced in many counties, with reported losses up to 50–65% in some areas.
Rainfall has been highly variable: some counties received 2–4 inches over recent weekends while others saw little measurable relief, producing uneven recovery.
Planting was delayed in several counties and some corn and soybean stands were planted later or are emerging unevenly due to dry soils.
Tobacco setting and growth are reported as halted or stressed in multiple counties where appreciable rain has not occurred.
Top Statewide Concerns
- hay and pasture loss
- low subsoil moisture
- uneven, patchy rainfall
- delayed planting and uneven stands
- tobacco crop stress
- water supply and quality
Regional summaries
West / Mountains & Foothills
(Alexander, Avery, Catawba, Haywood, Henderson, Iredell, Jackson, Madison)
- Several mountain counties report extreme to exceptional drought with serious crop impacts and reported large hay losses (e.g., Alexander, Iredell, Avery).
- Some counties report recent rainfall that is beginning to alleviate conditions in places (e.g., Madison, Jackson, Henderson), but overall deficits remain.
- Drought has delayed planting and stressed fruit and vegetable crops and pastures.
Piedmont / Sandhills
(Anson, Caswell, Chatham, Davie, Lee, Montgomery, Person, Scotland, Wake, Yadkin)
- Piedmont includes multiple extreme and severe drought reports (Chatham, Person, Montgomery, Yadkin) with reduced pasture and hay production.
- Rainfall has been highly variable across the region; recent weekend rains helped some areas but did not fully relieve drought impacts.
- Planting delays and poor wheat quality were reported where soils stayed dry.
North & Central Coastal Plain
(Craven, Currituck, Edgecombe, Franklin, Washington, Wayne, Wilson)
- Coastal plain counties include extreme drought reports (Craven, Franklin) with reports of virtually no subsoil moisture in places.
- Some counties received substantial recent rainfall (Washington, Wayne) that provided short-term relief, but subsoil moisture and water supplies remain low.
Southeast Coastal Plain
(Bladen, Columbus, Duplin, Onslow, Pender)
- Southeast counties are mostly abnormally dry to moderate drought, with recent rains improving conditions for many fields (Onslow, Duplin, Columbus).
- Corn and other crops showed wilting or stunting in drier areas prior to recent rains; growers report a remaining negative seasonal moisture balance.
County Comments Highlights (selected notes from impact and additional comments)
Avery
It has not stopped raining except for brief periods of time, with a steady slow soaking rain.
Alexander
All crops have been seriously impacted by the drought and erratic weather; hay is 50–65% loss and wheat will be the same.
Chatham
1.5–2 inches fell recently after prior extreme dryness; pastures and crops suffered drought symptoms, with highly variable weekly rainfall providing little relief.
Person
County remains basically dry, though recent rains have helped some and improved topsoil moisture in places.
Yadkin
Drought has reduced hay volume by about 1/2 and raised concern for nitrate in hay; tobacco setting has stopped until rain.
Washington
Rain fell 2–3" countywide over the weekend; intermittent rain is forecasted this week, and we still have a lot of catching up to do.
Davie
Corn and beans are coming up after delayed planting; wheat is rough, and 1.25 inches of rain this week should help beans and corn.
Jackson
Drought continues, but 1"-2" rainfall over the last 10 days in Jackson and Swain counties has begun a beneficial pattern change.
Onslow
About 3.25 inches of rain fell on average across the county between Friday and Monday (May 22–25).
Caswell
This weekend we averaged 1 inch countywide, with some areas at 2 inches or more; it helped alleviate drought stress, but we’re not out of drought yet.
Wake
Rain this weekend (~0.5" average) should help initial growth and establishment, though more through-season rain is needed to assess long-term impacts.
County analysis as a list
View county analysis as a list
Exceptional Drought (1 county)
- Avery - Persistent drought / little change
Extreme Drought (7 counties)
- Alexander - Persistent drought / little change
- Chatham - Persistent drought / little change
- Craven - Persistent drought / little change
- Franklin - Persistent drought / little change
- Iredell - Persistent drought / little change
- Person - Persistent drought / little change
- Yadkin - Persistent drought / little change
Severe Drought (4 counties)
- Catawba - Persistent drought / little change
- Montgomery - Some relief / conditions improving
- Scotland - Persistent drought / little change
- Washington - Persistent drought / little change
Moderate Drought (7 counties)
- Columbus - Persistent drought / little change
- Davie - Persistent drought / little change
- Edgecombe - Persistent drought / little change
- Jackson - Persistent drought / little change
- Madison - Persistent drought / little change
- Onslow - Persistent drought / little change
- Wilson - Persistent drought / little change
Abnormally Dry (9 counties)
- Anson - Persistent drought / little change
- Bladen - Persistent drought / little change
- Caswell - Some relief / conditions improving
- Currituck - Persistent drought / little change
- Haywood - Persistent drought / little change
- Henderson - Persistent drought / little change
- Lee - Some relief / conditions improving
- Pender - Persistent drought / little change
- Wake - Persistent drought / little change
No mapped response (2 counties)
- Duplin - Some relief / conditions improving
- Wayne - Persistent drought / little change
Note: Map reflects county-reported drought classifications from the May 24, 2026 survey. Comment signal summarizes the tone of county narrative responses. Counties without a clearly mapped report remain unshaded.