June heat and drought hits Midlands corn crop

ORANGEBURG, S.C. (AP) — Last month’s heat wave and a lack of rain heavily damaged the corn crop in South Carolina’s Midlands, leaving some farmers banking on cotton and peanuts to make up their losses.

The Times and Democrat or Orangeburg reports (http://bit.ly/1Sjcon0 ) the Orangeburg area is in an incipient drought – the lowest level of drought – but it has been enough to wipe out much of the corn that is not irrigated.

Calhoun County Clemson extension agent Charles Davis says some fields will yield only about 10 percent of a crop, others will have essentially nothing.

Edwin Smoak planted 130 acres of corn but says he will be able to harvest only 20 acres. But Smoak says his cotton and peanuts are looking OK with the help of rain in recent days.

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Information from: The Times & Democrat, http://www.timesanddemocrat.com