UGA Extension update: 2025 row crop season well underway in Terrell County
DAWSON – Oval peanut seedlings are bursting through the soil and succulent corn stalks are soaring to the sky so green, they're almost black in Terrell County.
March through July marks row crop planting season across nearly 60,000 acres of productive farmland in the county. This acreage is made up of cotton, corn, peanuts and small grains like wheat and rye. However, Seth McAllister, Terrell County's University of Georgia extension agent, said cotton, normally the dominant crop, is down about 50% this year from 29,000 acres last year.
McAllister said the decline in cotton acreage reflects persistent low market prices.
'I haven't seen any cotton fields up yet,' he said. 'I know there's a few that have been planted, but cotton prices are so low right now and nobody was in a hurry to get started on it early.'
Wheat and other small grains are on the decline because of tough market conditions as well. However, McAllister said grain sorghum remains a staple crop in Terrell County, which leads the state in farm gate value for the crop because of the county's proximity to quail plantations, which uses the crop on hunting drive rows.
It's the season's irrigated corn that's standing out this year. Planting began in early March.
'Corn looks really good,' McAllister said. 'Yield potential right now is as high as I've ever seen in my career.'
He said making 220 bushels per acre in corn is considered a success.
'Some fields I've been walking this week, I think our yield potential is 30 to 50 bushels better than that … which would be very unusual,' he said. 'But we've still got a long way to go.'
The week of May 5 is usually the peak planting season for peanuts and cotton. McAllister said local peanuts are looking good, despite sporadic hog damage in a couple of fields.
While some crops seem to be growing strong, financial stress and uncertainty is weighing heavily on the farming community.
'As stagnant as commodity prices are right now, there's a lot of discouragement,' McAllister said. 'The input prices that we're paying for fertilizer and chemicals are still pretty elevated, but the price we're getting paid for the crop we're making has been stagnant the last two years. It's becoming a little bit of a financial burden for a lot of people.'
McAllister has worked in the county for nine years. He said there are about one to two farms that transition each year due to retirements, inheritance or finding new leasers.
'But in the last two years, there's been a lot more transition … because either people couldn't finance, so they had to reduce the acres they were farming, or somebody retired or was in a financial situation where they couldn't afford to lease it,' he said. 'So there's been a lot more turnover of farmers.'
Terrell farmers are also scaling back dryland acres because of risk, prioritizing irrigated fields where they have a better chance of making a return. Still, heavier clay soils in the county, which retain moisture well, have posed their own problems, especially when a heavy rain is followed by hot, dry conditions that can crust over the seedbed and stall germination.
Less cotton also has ripple effects across the county. It drives demand for fuel, fertilizer, seed, ginning and international shipping. McAllister said reduced cotton could also impact irrigation strategies. Many farms use shared pivot systems to meet moisture needs across multiple crops, timing peak irrigation for different periods. Without significant cotton in July, the balance is harder to manage during corn and peanut peaks.
McAllister said there is also uncertainty because of rising tariffs. China, the top cotton importer in the world, is one of the primary countries the U.S. exports its raw cotton to.
'Hopefully, we can get all that behind us, and we'll see commodity prices come up … when we're harvesting and farmers can take advantage of that,' he said.
McAllister said the farming community remains hopeful.
'Right now, I think we're off to a good start,' he said. 'I mean, we've got good stands. We've got good fertility in the corn that's out there. I'm hoping that we can dodge any major weather catastrophes and make some decent yields.'
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