As you read this column, I hope you can say "we sure have received some nice rains during the past few days." I have to prepare this column several days before it is published, so as I put these words on paper, it is as "dry as a bone" outside.

According to the weather information that appears in this newspaper daily, we are about eight inches below normal rainfall for this time of the year. Considering that we should have received about 40 inches by now, this means we are 20 percent below normal.

If you can't understand from the numbers above that it is dry outside, take a look at the Lumber River, the swamps trickling beneath the bridges, or the ponds scattered throughout the countryside. The water level is getting pretty low in all these places.

Our farmers are fortunate that they received an adequate amount of rainfall throughout the summer. Most of the crops in the county did extremely well. Our tobacco farmers were able to grow more tobacco than they could sell, corn yields were well above average, and soybean and cotton yields appear to be about average.

Our farmers are now trying to plant winter grain crops. Wheat, rye, and oats are usually planted in late October and November. If there is enough moisture in the soil, the small seeds germinate fairly quickly, and within a few days the fields are completely green.

However, since we have not received very much rainfall recently, the soils are so dry that either the farmers are waiting for rain before they plant or the seeds that have been planted are just lying in the soil and not germinating. For the farmers sake, let's hope they begin to get rain soon.

Another problem resulting from the dry conditions is the large numbers of wildfires throughout the entire region. Thankfully, there have been no major fires, but our Forest Service has been busy day and night trying to keep these small fires from spreading.

There is currently a burning ban across the state. It is extremely risky to be burning anything outdoors. Everyone should be very careful, because the least little spark could start a fire that might cause considerable damage not only to woodlands but to buildings and other property as well.

Conditions like this should remind landowners who are paying any attention at all to forest management that they should be practicing controlled burning in their forests. Properly burning the debris that accumulates under the trees keeps the amount of kindling from building up to such high levels. When large amounts of debris burn, the fires get so hot that many of the trees are killed.

Now is definitely not the time to consider controlled burning but is definitely the time to start planning for it. When it starts raining and the County Forest Rangers are not busy fighting fires, get them to come take a look at your property. They will be glad to help you make plans for better management of your forestlands next spring by removing the excessive debris with controlled burning.

Those landowners who are planning to plant pine seedlings this winter need to make sure they have placed their order for seedlings. Seedlings are usually available from the state nurseries as well as from private nurseries, but if you don't order pretty soon, they may sell out of seedlings for this season. For more information about pine seedlings, please give me a call or contact the North Carolina Forest Service by calling 618-5540.

E-mail address: Everett_Davis@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 11/15/01