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Hurricane Dorian's winds and rains ravaged farm fields across eastern North Carolina, and tobacco farmers are now working to salvage what they can of this year's crop.State Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler toured farms this week to assess the damage, and he called it extensive.

"[Farmers] are working night and day, but the probability is we're going to have a substantial loss to the tobacco crop this year," Troxler said Wednesday.

The size of the loss won't be known until all of the tobacco is harvested, he said. Brandon Trevathan, who works for Vick Family Farms near Macclesfield, said tractors and trucks are running almost nonstop to try to finish that harvest as quickly as possible.

"It's got wind damage," Trevathan said of the tobacco. "This is one of the prettiest crops we've had. There are a bunch of stalks that are just leaned over." Dorian's winds whipped up the aging process of the plants, he said, noting that, when tobacco is battered, it creates a ripening chemical called ethelyne.

"We're seeing a very quick maturing of the tobacco," he said. "If we don't go ahead and get it out now, it's going to be worse."

Before the storm, farmers had until the end of the month to get the tobacco leaves from the fields to the flue-curing barns. Now, it's down to a few days, and with such mature leaves, they're poised to fall off before they're bundled up.

"The question is, do we have enough barns to get it in before it gets on the ground?" Troxler said. "I think the answer is no."

Wilson County farmer Kevin Gardner, who had most of his leaves harvested before Dorian, said 25 percent or more of the local crop could be ruined.

"We're helping our neighbors get theirs out as fast as we can. If not, they're going to lose it," Gardner said.

Troxler said the situation isn't as dire for farmers as it was after Hurricane Matthew in 2016 or Hurricane Florence last year, noting most of the damaged soybeans and cotton crops can be salvaged. Still, he wonders how much more North Carolina farmers can withstand.

"They've about had enough, and the financial losses that they're accruing year after year are really adding up," Troxler said.

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