LIMESTONE COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — Brady Peek is a fourth-generation farmer, who now owns the farm that belonged to generations before him.
“It’s that old saying of once you get dirt in your shoes, you can never get it out,” Peek said.
Peek has been farming since he was in high school. He grew up around it beforehand and became more involved once he was older. With time, comes experience, but nothing can prepare you for unpredictable weather disasters.
“As far as crop yields go, this is the worst farming year I’ve ever had.”
Alabama faced one of its driest seasons in years, breaking records in October for lacking rainfall.
“When it’s, you know, 95 to 100 degrees for most of the summer and no rain,” Peek said. “I mean, you can’t expect a crop to or, you know, a plant to grow and to be healthy.”
As of Friday morning, nearly every county in the state was categorized under drought conditions. Parts of Madison and Limestone counties are dealing with extreme drought, with Alabama dealing with the worst conditions in the Southeast.
While irrigation can help these conditions somewhat, Peek tells me nothing beats authentic rainfall for crop growth and health. Irrigation is a time-consuming and costly method that doesn’t always guarantee favorable results. For Limestone County, it’s even more difficult due to the underground rock that gives the county its name.
“To get to groundwater, you have to drill through the Limestone,” Peek said. “And, the chances of hitting a well adequate size to support an irrigation system in this part of the world is 10 to 15%. So, it’s really costly.”
Leaving many not only feeling the consequences in their crop yields but in their wallets.
“We had the worst yields at record low commodity prices and record high input prices,” Peek said. “It just was a perfect storm for a terrible year.”
Farmers across the state are feeling the same effects.
“So it’s costing more to produce the crop, and they’re receiving less for the crop they produce,” Mitt Walker, an ALFA spokesperson, said. “And it’s really put a lot of our farmers in a tough spot in terms of profitability.”
But, the light at the end of the tunnel is what keeps farmers motivated to continue doing what they love.
“Live one day at a time, but always with the future in mind and hopes that, if today wasn’t good or this year wasn’t good that, well, tomorrow or next year will be the best one yet,” Peek said.
