North Carolina Weekly Crop Survey – August 9, 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
Rainfall has been highly variable, producing patchy, short-term relief in many counties.
Pasture and hay production is reduced in multiple counties, with reports of low hay yields and limited forage.
Corn and soybean fields show widespread drought stress, and yield losses have been reported in some areas.
Water tables, ponds, streams, and other surface-water supplies remain low in several counties, increasing irrigation demand.
Top Statewide Concerns
- low subsoil moisture
- reduced hay and pasture production
- uneven, patchy rainfall
- low water tables and ponds
- crop stress and yield loss
- increased irrigation needs
Regional summaries
West / Mountains & Foothills
(Avery, Burke, Caldwell, Haywood, Henderson, Iredell, Madison)
- Mixed reports: some mountain counties (Avery) are reporting wet conditions while others (Burke, Iredell) remain in severe drought.
- Widespread showers have lessened drought in parts of the region, but crop and pasture conditions remain variable.
Piedmont / Sandhills
(Cabarrus, Chatham, Cumberland, Davie, Guilford, Hoke, Montgomery, Moore, Orange, Person, Randolph, Richmond, Stokes, Surry, Yadkin)
- Widespread drought severity: several counties report severe to exceptional drought (Chatham, Cumberland, Person, Stokes, Guilford; Orange reported as extreme).
- Scattered rainfall has provided temporary relief in places, yet pastures, hay, and field crops continue to show drought stress and increased irrigation needs.
North & Central Coastal Plain
(Carteret, Craven, Franklin, Hertford, Johnston, Northampton, Wilson)
- Mixed conditions from short-term recovery (Carteret, Hertford) to extreme drought in Craven.
- Surface rains improved topsoil moisture in some areas, but subsoil moisture and water tables remain low across portions of the region.
Southeast Coastal Plain
(Bladen, Brunswick, Duplin, Pender, Sampson)
- Severe drought reported in Bladen and Brunswick with very low water tables, streams, lakes, and ponds.
- Recent rains have helped maintain soil moisture and reduced stress in places, but crop losses and slowed development (corn, soybeans, peanuts) were reported.
- Some counties note conditions improving enough that water is not currently limiting for crops, but overall surface-water supplies remain low.
County Comments Highlights (selected notes from impact and additional comments)
Guilford
Drought continues in Guilford County with reduced pasture/hay, crop stress in corn/soybean, soil dryness, higher irrigation needs, and variable moisture.
Craven
A few inches of rainfall provided much needed water for crop growth but not enough to restore subsoil moisture.
Orange
Orange County is slowly recovering from extreme drought with additional showers; we are 23 inches less this year than last year at the same time (16" vs 39").
Bladen
Drought remains; rains helped soil moisture, but water table, streams, lakes, and ponds are still very low; corn crop is mostly done with reported yield losses; soybeans and peanuts have been stunted or slowed by lack of rainfall, drought stress has reduced.
Stokes
Low hay production.
Montgomery
Drought persists; rains in July–Aug brought some temporary relief.
Wilson
Water table is still low, but we have received some very timely rains.
Avery
We have been wet and have enough rain that our spider mites are rotting on the stems.
Carteret
Two weeks of rain have left soil moisture good at the moment.
County analysis as a list
View county analysis as a list
Exceptional Drought (1 county)
- Guilford - Persistent drought / little change
Extreme Drought (2 counties)
- Craven - Worsening / crop stress intensifying
- Orange - Worsening / crop stress intensifying
Severe Drought (8 counties)
- Bladen - Persistent drought / little change
- Brunswick - Persistent drought / little change
- Burke - Persistent drought / little change
- Chatham - Persistent drought / little change
- Cumberland - Persistent drought / little change
- Iredell - Persistent drought / little change
- Person - Persistent drought / little change
- Stokes - Some relief / conditions improving
Moderate Drought (10 counties)
- Cabarrus - Persistent drought / little change
- Davie - Persistent drought / little change
- Duplin - Some relief / conditions improving
- Franklin - Persistent drought / little change
- Montgomery - Some relief / conditions improving
- Moore - Some relief / conditions improving
- Pender - Persistent drought / little change
- Richmond - Persistent drought / little change
- Sampson - Worsening / crop stress intensifying
- Wilson - Persistent drought / little change
Abnormally Dry (8 counties)
- Haywood - Persistent drought / little change
- Henderson - Persistent drought / little change
- Hoke - Persistent drought / little change
- Johnston - Persistent drought / little change
- Northampton - Worsening / crop stress intensifying
- Randolph - Some relief / conditions improving
- Surry - Worsening / crop stress intensifying
- Yadkin - Worsening / crop stress intensifying
No mapped response (5 counties)
- Avery - Persistent drought / little change
- Caldwell - Some relief / conditions improving
- Carteret - Persistent drought / little change
- Hertford - Persistent drought / little change
- Madison - Persistent drought / little change
Note: Map reflects county-reported drought classifications from the August 9, 2026 survey. Comment signal summarizes the tone of county narrative responses. Counties without a clearly mapped report remain unshaded.