Culpeper County Extension officials told the Board of Supervisors on June 3 that recent heavy rainfall and runoff from higher elevations caused flooding in river-bottom agricultural land, damaging hay and creating debris issues for farmers.

Carl Stafford, senior extension agent, said the May storm produced 2–4 inches locally and up to 8 inches in the Highlands to the west, sending floodwaters down through the Hazel River and other tributaries. Stafford said roughly 830 acres were affected, mostly corn and soybeans, with about 160 acres of hay impacted. He said crops are expected to be replanted where needed and that seed suppliers sometimes provide seed to producers for replanting.

Stafford said hay growers likely faced the largest losses because early cutting was missed; later-cut hay will be lower value and may contain soil and debris. Debris removal timelines are uncertain and will be handled by individual producers; Stafford said some producers may graze damaged fields or harvest lower-quality hay later in the season.

Stafford said the Rapidan River briefly exceeded flood stage (the National Weather Service reported the Rapidan at 15.6 feet, above the 13-foot flood stage) but returned to near-normal levels by the following weekend. He asked producers to monitor fields and to use available extension resources for recovery steps and debris removal guidance.