Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Drought conditions are tightening their grip across Georgia, and for many farmers, the concern isn't just the lack of rain — it's how dangerously early it arrived this season. Reporting from Madison, John Holcomb sits down with cotton and wheat producer Lee Nunn to hear firsthand how historically dry conditions are threatening to derail the entire planting season before it even begins.
Nunn, who has farmed for over 25 years, says he has never experienced drought stress this early in the season — and the numbers back it up. Rainfall totals since last September are running roughly 15 inches below normal, leaving soil so hard and compacted that even getting equipment in the ground has become a serious challenge. His strip tiller is wearing at double the normal rate, adding unexpected costs at the worst possible time.
And those equipment costs are just one piece of a much larger financial puzzle. With input costs — fuel, fertilizer, equipment, and parts — all at or near all-time highs, farmers like Nunn are under enormous pressure to produce a profitable crop this fall. Without adequate soil moisture, planting simply isn't an option.
With a roughly six-week window remaining to get cotton in the ground, Nunn says time is running out — and conditions need to change soon. Because in a year like this one, nothing less than a near-perfect crop will do.
🌾 Subscribe for weekly farm reports and agricultural news from across Georgia — only on The Farm Monitor.
Drought conditions are tightening their grip across Georgia, and for many farmers, the concern isn't just the lack of rain — it's how dangerously early it arrived this season. Reporting from Madison, John Holcomb sits down with cotton and wheat producer Lee Nunn to hear firsthand how historically dry conditions are threatening to derail the entire planting season before it even begins.
Nunn, who has farmed for over 25 years, says he has never experienced drought stress this early in the season — and the numbers back it up. Rainfall totals since last September are running roughly 15 inches below normal, leaving soil so hard and compacted that even getting equipment in the ground has become a serious challenge. His strip tiller is wearing at double the normal rate, adding unexpected costs at the worst possible time.
And those equipment costs are just one piece of a much larger financial puzzle. With input costs — fuel, fertilizer, equipment, and parts — all at or near all-time highs, farmers like Nunn are under enormous pressure to produce a profitable crop this fall. Without adequate soil moisture, planting simply isn't an option.
With a roughly six-week window remaining to get cotton in the ground, Nunn says time is running out — and conditions need to change soon. Because in a year like this one, nothing less than a near-perfect crop will do.
🌾 Subscribe for weekly farm reports and agricultural news from across Georgia — only on The Farm Monitor.
