North Carolina Weekly Crop Survey – June 14, 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
Corn across the state is showing widespread stress, with reports of leaf roll, browning, and stalled growth in many counties.
Pastures and hayfields are stressed statewide, causing reduced first-cutting yields and increased feeding of stored forage in multiple counties.
Rainfall has been sporadic and uneven, with isolated showers providing short-term relief but not widespread drought recovery.
Tobacco transplant losses and the need to reset fields were reported in several counties due to dry conditions.
Surface water and river levels are notably low in parts of the coastal plain, raising concerns about irrigation and water availability.
Top Statewide Concerns
- Corn yield loss
- Hay and forage shortages
- Tobacco transplant losses
- Uneven, insufficient rainfall
- Low surface water/river levels
- Delayed planting and poor stands
Regional summaries
West / Mountains & Foothills
(Alexander, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Iredell, Macon, McDowell, Swain, Yancey)
- Most mountain and foothill counties report severe to extreme drought or abnormally dry conditions.
- Localized recent rains have given short-term relief in places but forage shortages, delayed first-cutting hay, and continued livestock feeding persist.
Piedmont / Sandhills
(Caswell, Davie, Forsyth, Hoke, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, Person, Randolph, Rockingham, Rowan, Scotland, Stokes, Surry, Wake, Yadkin)
- Piedmont counties show widespread extreme and severe drought, with at least one county at exceptional drought.
- Corn and tobacco are widely stressed (leaf roll, browning, transplant losses), pastures and hay production are reduced, and showers are hit-or-miss.
North & Central Coastal Plain
(Edgecombe, Hertford, Hyde, Johnston, Martin, Northampton, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Washington, Wayne, Wilson)
- North and central coastal plain counties range from abnormally dry to extreme drought, with several counties reporting severe impacts to row crops.
- Reports note very dry soils, stalled or stunted crops, planting delays, and scattered short rain events that did not eliminate drought.
Southeast Coastal Plain
(Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Duplin, Onslow, Pender, Robeson, Sampson)
- Southeast coastal plain counties report severe to extreme drought in much of the region, with some areas experiencing spotty rainfall.
- Corn leaf curling and mid-day stress, low river and surface water levels, and farmers making selective irrigation and water-use decisions were commonly reported.
County Comments Highlights (selected notes from impact and additional comments)
Davie
Heat and no rain stressing corn; beans mostly okay and wheat harvest continues; central-southern area received over 1 inch rains in last 24 hours.
Johnston
Extremely dry in Johnston with 3-4 tenths after weekend showers; crops suffering, especially corn and tobacco, and planting of soybean and sweetpotato delayed due to moderate to severe drought and high temps.
Robeson
Wide range of conditions due to rainfall differences; majority experiencing ongoing drought and heat causing major stress in commodity crops, vegetables, and forages.
Bladen
Plant growth slowed and stunted; poor plant health and leaf roll from high heat, rainfall reduced some stress and moisture, but western/northwestern areas in extreme drought.
Columbus
We are still in a significant drought, with spotty rain; soil moisture is low, stressing crops in some areas and near-stress in others.
Macon
Drought continues, with about 1/2 inch rain in 3 days; SE quadrant fared better, rainfall this month improved conditions, but cattlemen are feeding hay and about 30% of first hay cut completed.
Pamlico
Corn is tasseling with significant drought; rains keep missing county. Other crops will be affected soon without multiple inches of rain, with potential significant losses in corn if rain does not come this week.
Pender
Rivers are very low; the water mark on trees is about 3 feet below normal; crops planted last week have not gotten much rain, it did rain half an inch yesterday, we're in drought conditions, but the crops don't look too bad.
Wake
Drought continues with high temperatures; more impacts to crops should be apparent, and some herbicide damage from dry weather during application observed.
Hoke
Starting to recover from sparse rains, but the lack of continuous rain and heat are hindering recovery.
Surry
Drought conditions persist; pastures and forages show severe drought stress with hay production short for 1st cutting, and corn, soybeans, and tobacco stands variable due to dry planting conditions since May 24th.
County analysis as a list
View county analysis as a list
Exceptional Drought (1 county)
- Rockingham - Persistent drought / little change
Extreme Drought (11 counties)
- Alexander - Worsening / crop stress intensifying
- Davie - Persistent drought / little change
- Johnston - Persistent drought / little change
- Montgomery - Persistent drought / little change
- Person - Persistent drought / little change
- Randolph - Persistent drought / little change
- Robeson - Worsening / crop stress intensifying
- Rowan - Persistent drought / little change
- Stokes - Worsening / crop stress intensifying
- Washington - Persistent drought / little change
- Yancey - Worsening / crop stress intensifying
Severe Drought (17 counties)
- Bladen - Persistent drought / little change
- Burke - Some relief / conditions improving
- Caswell - Worsening / crop stress intensifying
- Catawba - Persistent drought / little change
- Columbus - Persistent drought / little change
- Edgecombe - Persistent drought / little change
- Iredell - Persistent drought / little change
- Lee - Persistent drought / little change
- Macon - Some relief / conditions improving
- Martin - Persistent drought / little change
- Northampton - Persistent drought / little change
- Onslow - Worsening / crop stress intensifying
- Pamlico - Worsening / crop stress intensifying
- Pender - Worsening / crop stress intensifying
- Sampson - Worsening / crop stress intensifying
- Scotland - Persistent drought / little change
- Wake - Persistent drought / little change
Moderate Drought (15 counties)
- Avery - Persistent drought / little change
- Brunswick - Worsening / crop stress intensifying
- Buncombe - Persistent drought / little change
- Duplin - Some relief / conditions improving
- Forsyth - Persistent drought / little change
- Gaston - Persistent drought / little change
- Haywood - Persistent drought / little change
- Hoke - Persistent drought / little change
- Hyde - Persistent drought / little change
- Moore - Persistent drought / little change
- Pasquotank - Persistent drought / little change
- Surry - Persistent drought / little change
- Wayne - Worsening / crop stress intensifying
- Wilson - Persistent drought / little change
- Yadkin - Persistent drought / little change
Abnormally Dry (5 counties)
- Caldwell - Persistent drought / little change
- Henderson - Persistent drought / little change
- Hertford - Some relief / conditions improving
- McDowell - Some relief / conditions improving
- Swain - Persistent drought / little change
Note: Map reflects county-reported drought classifications from the June 14, 2026 survey. Comment signal summarizes the tone of county narrative responses. Counties without a clearly mapped report remain unshaded.