Drought forces S.C. farmers to cut production, raise prices

WMBF News reports that — Pee Dee farmers say weeks of heat and little rain are cutting into crop production and forcing them to spend more on irrigation just to keep fields alive.

At McKenzie Farms and Nursery in Scranton, farmers say they have been forced to run irrigation more often, spending more money just to keep up.

Most crops are doing okay, but early squash has been burning up in the heat, and tomatoes have been having a hard time ripening even with daily watering.

Tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers have been hit the hardest.

Early tomatoes are running about a dollar more per pound than normal.

“Probably the drought has been the worst on me; it’s just been very, very dry, very little rain,” said Stan McKenzie of McKenzie Farms and Nursery.