DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Va. — A severe drought gripping Dinwiddie County for the past four weeks is devastating crops and pushing farmers to the brink of a lost growing season.
Jason Barnes has farmed for 20 years. He says 2026 is a year he will never forget — for all the wrong reasons.
"This corn should be about 2 feet taller than it is right now and starting to almost fill the middle," Barnes said.
Barnes farms a couple thousand acres in Dinwiddie County, growing peanuts, cotton, wheat, field corn and soybeans. He says a lot of rain is what farmers need right now if they are going to make it — and it needs to come soon.
"This is by far the worst situation I've ever been in and the worst drought," Barnes said.
Without relief, Barnes says the consequences could be catastrophic.
"If we don't get rain on the type of soil these soybeans are planted on, they're going to start dying in probably 10 days," Barnes said.
His tobacco crop is also struggling.
"This is our tobacco right here and it is basically in survival mode," Barnes said. "It should be as big as a hat, maybe twice as big as a hat this time of year. And we should have planted it and worked it out at least one time by now."
At nearby Double B Farms, Billy Bain says the drought has been compounded by intense heat.
"It's gotten worse, especially with this intense heat that we've had this week, has really put a lot of stress on the crops that are up as well as the ones trying to emerge," Bain said.
Bain says even crops that survive to harvest will fall well short of normal yields.
"I would say we definitely not looking at a record crop, all crops have been effected, the yields are going to be down," Bain said.
The damage is already showing up in the fields.
"We cut hay this past week and the yield was less than half and now those fields we have cut have turned totally brown," Bain said.
The drought's impact extends beyond crops. Because Dinwiddie County has been in severe drought conditions for the past four weeks, livestock producers in the county have become eligible for U.S. government compensation. Most will use the money to buy hay or feed to keep their livestock alive, as pastures have basically dried up.
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