Georgia farmers face dual challenge of drought and winter freezes

LYONS, Ga. (WTOC) - Georgia farmers are facing dual weather challenges as they work through drought conditions while recovering from recent winter freezes that damaged crops across the state.

Toombs County remains in severe drought, part of broader dry conditions affecting much of Georgia. But for Vidalia onion growers, the recent deep freezes have posed a greater immediate threat than the lack of rainfall.

“This year has definitely thrown us a few curveballs,” said Aries Haygood, president of A&M Farms. “More of the challenge so far has been the deep freezes that we experienced a couple weeks ago.”

Haygood said soil temperatures fluctuated significantly during the winter weather event, dropping as low as 29 degrees. The ideal soil temperature for Vidalia onions is anything above 55 degrees.

“I was able to stick a thermometer in about a half an inch before I hit frozen, where it had frozen,” Haygood said. “And at that time the reading was 29 degrees. So there’s definitely been some fluctuations in it.”

The recent warm-up has helped stabilize conditions and improve crop health. Haygood said the onions are showing signs of recovery.

“You can tell the onions are happy right now,” he said. “It looks like they’re green, they’re standing up. So it seems like they’re growing well.”

While the drought hasn’t significantly impacted the onions during their current growth stage, water demands will increase as the season moves into March and the onions begin bulbing. Haygood said during this growth stage, the plants don’t need as much water as they will in another 30 days.

Farmers are closely monitoring moisture levels and using overhead irrigation to help offset the ongoing drought conditions.

The crops are still being monitored for impact from the recent freezes, but most onions appear ready for onion festival season.