Excerpt from North Carolina Agricultural Statistics, 1988, Vol. 164 Fears that 1987 would continue the drought of 1986 were, in general, not realized, but it was dry during critical parts of the growing season in many regions of North Carolina. The 1986 drought was, by far, the worst ever in the-piedmont region but in some Coastal Plain counties the growing season was actually drier in 1987. The contrast between 1987 and the year prior was most dramatic in the month of April. Conditions were so dry in early spring 1986, that seeds failed to germinate and irrigation drained farm ponds earlier than ever recorded. Spring conditions in 1987 were in many cases so wet that crop planting had to be postponed until May. The April showers finally ended and May was one of the very best months for spring agriculture in North Carolina in several years. Soil moisture supplies remained good through the month. Crop planting and transplanting moved ahead at an incredible pace the first two weeks of May. Tobacco transplanting started behind schedule but finished on target. June was more variable in terms of weather across the Tar Heel State. Some dry spots began to show up in parts of the central Coastal Plain. This extremely dry month was undoubtedly responsible for some yield reductions in these areas, but it was good news for those harvesting small grains and hay. The extreme southern Coastal area was also very dry during June. July and August were also very dry in many parts of the State. These are traditionally the wettest months of the year in North Carolina but not so in 1987. This water deficit combined with unseasonably hot weather caused serious decline in the health of most crops. The crop decline continued through August in many localities, resulting in significant yield redue tions in some crops. August was the fourth consecutive month with above normal temperatures which only heightened the water loss from crops. The good news in September was the rain which came on a fairly regular basis in most locations. This was a true life-saver for later crops such as soybeans. By the end of September nearly half of the soybean crop was in good or excellent condition a dramatic reversal from just a few weeks prior. The rains came too late for other crops, resulting in yield reductions from 1986 for peanuts, tobacco and cotton. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.