North Carolina Weekly Crop Survey – September 27, 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
Reduced yields in corn and other row crops are reported in multiple counties, with some dryland fields stunted.
Widespread pasture and forage stress is reported, including hay shortages and reports of producers purchasing feed or feeding livestock early.
Soil moisture remains below normal across many areas despite recent localized rainfall events.
Tobacco and other specialty crops are noted among those affected by drought conditions in several counties.
Late-summer rains have helped some annual crops, but long-term drought impacts from spring and early summer persist in many areas.
Top Statewide Concerns
- Reduced crop yields
- Forage and hay shortages
- Low soil moisture
- Uneven, patchy rainfall
- Low stream and river levels
- Cover crop and small-grain planting risk
Regional summaries
West / Mountains & Foothills
(Avery, Burke, Cleveland, Iredell, Madison, McDowell)
- Most mountain/foothill counties report no current drought impacts after recent localized rains.
- Iredell remains in moderate drought with visible long-term spring/summer impacts despite helpful late-summer rainfall.
Piedmont / Sandhills
(Anson, Caswell, Chatham, Davie, Durham, Hoke, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Orange, Person, Randolph, Richmond, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry, Yadkin)
- Piedmont reports range from abnormally dry to extreme drought, with several counties in extreme or severe status.
- Localized rains (including areas reporting up to about 2 inches) have helped some fields, but rainfall is uneven and forage shortages and hay concerns are reported.
North & Central Coastal Plain
(Beaufort, Edgecombe, Halifax, Johnston, Northampton, Warren, Washington, Wilson)
- North and central coastal plain includes counties in extreme drought (e.g., Halifax, Warren) with reported reduced yields and severe forage shortages.
- Other counties are abnormally dry to moderate drought, noting marginal soil moisture despite some timely rains.
Southeast Coastal Plain
(Brunswick, Pender, Robeson, Sampson)
- Southeast coastal plain has pockets of severe drought (Brunswick, Robeson) with low yields and stunted dryland corn reported.
- Recent rains improved topsoil in parts of the region, but soil moisture and planting concerns for cover crops and small grains remain.
County Comments Highlights (selected notes from impact and additional comments)
Halifax
Yields are reduced significantly across peanuts, corn, and cotton. Some spots have faired better than others
Orange
Soil moisture is slowly improving. Over the last week, much of the county experienced cumulatively 2 inches of rain. A horizon has soil moisture and causing the grass and weed to grow well.
Warren
Severe to Extreme Drought causing significant crop yield loss and severe forage shortages; producers purchase outside hay or feed due to scarce pasture growth.
Brunswick
Low yields are being seen in harvest corn; all dryland fields are stunted.
Johnston
Although we have had some rainfall in the past 7 days, we are still 25-30% below normal in 2026.
Sampson
Dry conditions continue into this week, with a few spotty showers last week; some rain could help late maturing soybeans, digging peanuts and sweet potatoes.
Edgecombe
Ground is still dry, conditions are still drier than normal. Most crops have recouped to a decent extent. Peanut harvest is being arranged around recent /pending rains.
Richmond
A steady 24+ hour rain event last weekend alleviated drought after 10 days of warmth and no rain; southern county received more rain than the northern.
Surry
Region received much-needed rainfall over three days (9/22–9/24) that should greatly help those crops actively growing, but water levels in streams and rivers remain low.
Yadkin
Region received much needed rainfall over a three-day span (9/22–9/24), helping crops actively growing, but streams and rivers remain low.
Randolph
Widespread rain this week brought above 1/2" of rain on average to the county.
County analysis as a list
View county analysis as a list
Extreme Drought (6 counties)
- Caswell - Persistent drought / little change
- Halifax - Persistent drought / little change
- Orange - Worsening / crop stress intensifying
- Person - Some relief / conditions improving
- Rockingham - Persistent drought / little change
- Warren - Persistent drought / little change
Severe Drought (5 counties)
- Anson - Persistent drought / little change
- Brunswick - Worsening / crop stress intensifying
- Montgomery - Some relief / conditions improving
- Robeson - Persistent drought / little change
- Stokes - Some relief / conditions improving
Moderate Drought (8 counties)
- Chatham - Persistent drought / little change
- Davie - Persistent drought / little change
- Durham - Persistent drought / little change
- Hoke - Persistent drought / little change
- Iredell - Persistent drought / little change
- Johnston - Persistent drought / little change
- Sampson - Persistent drought / little change
- Washington - Persistent drought / little change
Abnormally Dry (9 counties)
- Beaufort - Persistent drought / little change
- Edgecombe - Some relief / conditions improving
- Mecklenburg - Persistent drought / little change
- Northampton - Persistent drought / little change
- Pender - Some relief / conditions improving
- Richmond - Persistent drought / little change
- Surry - Persistent drought / little change
- Wilson - Some relief / conditions improving
- Yadkin - Persistent drought / little change
No mapped response (6 counties)
- Avery - Persistent drought / little change
- Burke - Some relief / conditions improving
- Cleveland - Persistent drought / little change
- Madison - Persistent drought / little change
- McDowell - Persistent drought / little change
- Randolph - Some relief / conditions improving
Note: Map reflects county-reported drought classifications from the September 27, 2026 survey. Comment signal summarizes the tone of county narrative responses. Counties without a clearly mapped report remain unshaded.