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A perfect storm of drought and heat threatens crops in southern Delaware

GEORGETOWN—A summer drought and this week's blistering heat wave has wrung the water from Delaware's sandy southern farmland. And the crippling weather has hit at the exact time when farmers—especially those who rely on Mother Nature to irrigate their crops—need water the most.

Corn needs the most water during the tassel to early-milk stage, according to Cory Whaley, a Sussex County agriculture agent with the University of Delaware Cooperative Extension, based in Georgetown.

“That’s the most critical time,” Whaley said. (Click here for an audio interview with a Delaware climatologist.)

Dennis Wyatt's voice reveals both pride and concern as he speaks about his 135-acre Ellendale farm.

“I’ve been farming since I was 14 years old,” Wyatt said. “It’s in my system. Once farming gets in your system, it’s hard to get out. It’s a different lifestyle. It’s a stress release. You put the seed in the ground and watch it grow. Everybody ain’t made to be a farmer.”

But while his passion for farming hasn’t waned, Wyatt admits that farming in Delaware is getting tougher. Now, watching his non-irrigated corn and soybeans choke in a parching statewide drought, Wyatt says, “I think it’s going to be one of the worst years.”

Extension agent Whaley says the drought has killed off hopes of a high-yield year.

Wyatt agrees. “There won't be no bumper crop.”

Like other farmers, he'll look to his crop insurance to stave off financial ruin. But crop insurance "ain't like growing a bumper crop," he said.

Whaley estimates that about half of Delaware's farms are partially irrigated, about 25 percent are completely irrigated, and the remaining 25 percent rely solely on rainfall.

Western Sussex County farmers without irrigation systems face more challenges than farmers in other parts of the state because the land is sandier.

“The soil can’t hold a lot of moisture for a long time,” Whaley said.

Wyatt says he knows that he would fare much better with an irrigation system, but he says he can’t justify the expense because his farm is relatively small.

“You want an irrigation system when it covers a lot of acres. That’s the only way irrigation pays off," he explained. (See related story on the costs of irrigation.)

Wyatt expects he'll only harvest 10 to 15 bushels per acre of corn this year. That, plus the insurance cash guarantee of 59 bushels per acre, adds up to 75 bushels at most—far shy of the 140 to 150 bushels per acre he produces in a good year.

“I would rather grow a crop than collect crop insurance,” he said. “It ain't there to make you money. It's there to keep you going from year to year.”

Wyatt estimates that even with crop insurance he will suffer a net loss of income because of the drought.

“I’ve done spent more than I'm guaranteed from insurance,” he said.

However, legislation passed by the U.S. Congress in 2008 may help people like Wyatt who invested in crop insurance, said Don Clifton, Delaware executive director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency.

“This drought year is different because we have a standing disaster assistance bill [the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program] as part of the 2008 farm bill,” Clifton said.

For Delaware farmers to receive the aid, Governor Jack Markell would have to petition the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), stating that 90 percent of farmers in an affected county have sustained loses of 30 percent or more, according to Mark Davis, deputy secretary of the Delaware Department of Agriculture. If the USDA approved the requested disaster designation, all bordering counties would receive the same benefit.

In 2007 Governor Ruth Ann Minner appealed for disaster designation for Kent and Sussex Counties. Davis says it is likely that Gov. Markell will make an appeal this year.

“If it stays like this, yes,” Davis said.

Only farmers who carry crop insurance would be eligible for the disaster aid, Clifton said.

“My message to farmers is, if you have bought crop insurance  you should have some piece of mind based on the wisdom of that decision,” Clifton said.

For those lacking crop insurance, the USDA also can help with loans and business planning, Clifton said.