ELON, N.C. — Vaughn Willoughby shook his head as he scanned the grounds at Pritchett Farms Nurseries, where he had spent the past several decades farming. It was mid-spring, and the pastures before him were the wrong color for this time of year.
“This is probably the driest I’ve ever seen in my life. In April,” Willoughby told MS NOW. “It’s drastic. Very shocking to see how dry, how brown all the pasture is.”
Brown splotches dot the terrain as North Carolina weathers what the U.S. Drought Monitor calls the state’s driest spring on record. That means Willoughby has been unable to plant key crops like hay, some of which he uses to feed cattle. His fields should be covered in grass, several inches high by now, but today it barely pokes through the soil. Each issue exacerbates the next on this farm, threatening an already vulnerable ecosystem.
“We’re using up resources right now that we don’t have a replacement for,” he said. “If it doesn’t rain, we’re not going to be able to cut more hay because there won’t be more hay to cut. So we’re burning through bales of hay every day feeding the cattle that we got, because clearly there’s not a lot of grass out here for them to graze on.”
According to the Drought Monitor data, just 1% of the state suffered from “severe” drought early last April. Last week’s report showed 95.5% of the state facing severe drought or worse. The same trend is playing out across the country: Drought now covers more than 60% of the continental U.S., the highest share recorded for this time of year since the Drought Monitor began tracking conditions back in 2000.
The drought couldn’t come at a worse time for farmers. Conflict in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz have choked off a significant percentage of the world’s crude oil supply, sending prices soaring for fuel, fertilizer and plastics. And those price hikes are now hitting American farmers like Willoughby.
According to AAA, the national average price for a gallon of diesel is $5.64, roughly a 48% increase since Feb. 28, when the U.S. and Israel launched a joint war effort in Iran.
Willoughby says he uses up to 500 gallons of diesel when planting begins to ramp up in the spring, mostly to power tractors. When those tractors are attached to irrigation pumps, they can run for hours at a time, he said.
His farm is 200 acres, smaller than many of his neighbors’ plots. He said the larger farms can use thousands of gallons of diesel a month during spring planting season, especially when planting crops like corn and tobacco. Diesel use surges again during the fall harvest, when farmers use equipment like combines to gather crops.
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The United Nations reports that a third of the world’s fertilizer passes through the Strait of Hormuz, and blockades have made the commodity much more expensive. The American Farm Bureau Federation now says 70% of farmers surveyed around the country are now unable to afford all of the fertilizer they need.
That survey shows the costs of fertilizer straining some farmers more than others: More than 80% of American farmers are struggling to afford fertilizer for rice, cotton and peanuts.
Crude oil is also a key ingredient for manufacturing plastics. Marketplace reports certain commodity-grade plastics have gotten up to 20% more expensive since the Iran war began.
Willoughby says farmers use a high amount of plastic, especially in the winter, to protect crops from cold weather. He purchased next season’s plastic wraps ahead of time, anticipating this price increase.
All the while, Willoughby says he prays for rain.
“Granddaddy George used to say it’ll always rain one day before it’s too late,” Willoughby said. “Well, we hope that it will. It’s time now.”
Moses Small is a weather reporter for MS NOW.