Heavy Rain and Long Droughts: How Climate Change is Affecting Agriculture in Clarke County

Katherine Davis  |  February 7, 2025

Annual rainfall is increasing worldwide, including in Clarke County, and has been for decades.

Precipitation in the contiguous United States has been increasing at a rate of 0.18 inches per decade since 1901—significantly more than the global increase of 0.03 inches per decade. In Clarke County, the rate of increase has been 0.05 inches per decade.

Scientists attribute this pattern to climate change and warming temperatures. As the atmosphere gets warmer, the amount of water it can hold, and release, at one time increases. That means that as global temperatures continue to rise, we will see more intense and frequent rainfall.

“When the rain falls, we tend to get more of it in a day,” said Pam Knox, an agricultural climatologist at the University of Georgia. “And so, instead of getting, you know, an inch and a half, maybe we’re getting an inch and three quarters or two inches in a day.”

However, the period between these rain events is also increasing, leading to drought.

“We know rain is getting heavier, but it also has longer dry spells in between,” Knox said.

Farmers depend on rainfall to sustain their crops. During the growing season, it waters plants and keeps them cool. In the offseason, moisture builds in the soil to germinate seeds when the growing season begins again.

But too much rain at once can suffocate plants and cause diseases, erosion, and pollution, and most of it doesn’t soak into the soil.

“It averages out to about an inch a week, but when all 12 inches falls, you know, in one day, most of it just runs off. It doesn’t get in the ground so it’s not very helpful for the crops,” Knox said.

Dr. Ben Campbell, a professor and extension specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Georgia, says the impact of big rainfall events largely depends on timing.

“It all depends on what crop it is, when it occurs, and what happens. It’s not always bad, it’s not always good. It just depends on when it hits,” said Campbell.

Agriculture in the Athens area mainly consists of poultry, nursery greenhouses, timber and cattle.

Angel Creek Nursery farm manager Carol Seadale feels that rainfall patterns have been “really random” in recent years.

Angel Creek Nursery is a tree farm located in nearby Oconee County. When they get heavy rain, it can damage their irrigation system, hurt their young plants and sometimes delay sales.

Knox says that farms can adapt to the changing climate by changing what they grow. Angel Creek Nursery seems to be doing just that.

“If a tree is so fussy that it’s gonna get a disease because of a rainstorm, guess what we do? We stop growing it,” Seadale said. She also said that if they are expecting a big rainstorm, they delay planting.

Farmers can also protect their crops by tiling underground, planting cover crops, or staking plants. Many farms have irrigation systems in place to help water the plants during droughts.

“I think, on the short term, they’re as prepared as they can be,” Knox said.