Rain puts damper on local farm crops

Jul 4, 2009      New Bedford Standard Times

Rain puts damper on local farm crops

John George sounded defeated as the rain returned and swamped his already-soaked crops. The owner of John George Farms in Dartmouth had reached the end of his rope.

"I feel miserable, miserable," he said Wednesday. "If it continues to rain like this, it's going to be the straw that breaks the camel's back, quite frankly."

It's not just vacationers who have suffered with the weather that has plagued SouthCoast for the past month. The rain and unseasonably cool temperatures have been a liability to farmers, as well. Crops are growing slower than in past years and many farmers have seen lower production as fruits and vegetables rot before they are harvested.

"It's just a plain bad year," said Bob Peckham, owner of Golden Robin Farm in Westport. He said his strawberry crop is only a little bigger than half of what it has been in past years due to the rain, which is causing the fruit to rot before it ripens.

"The strawberry crop needs some moisture, but nothing like the weather we've been having here."

Peckham's hay business also is suffering. Hay needs three to four consecutive days of warm weather so it can dry and be stored without becoming moldy. That kind of consistent good weather has not happened yet this summer.

According to the National Weather Service, New Bedford was hit with more than 4 inches of rain in June, and the average temperature was about 62 degrees. Compare that to 2008, when rainfall for June totaled 2.28 inches and the average temperature was 69. In 2007, the city got 1.28 inches of rain and an average temperature of 66.

So far, strawberries have been a major casualty of the damp, cold weather at Cervelli Farm in Rochester.

"We had nice strawberries, but then it rained so much that you couldn't pick them and people didn't show up to buy them," owner Frank Cervelli said.

George said he expects his costs to increase 15 percent from last year because of the measures he has had to take to keep the rain from affecting his production.

In the early spring, George blankets his crops with a cheesecloth-like cover called Reemay, which increases the temperature underneath by 18 degrees, helping them to grow. This year, when the weather did not warm up as expected after taking off the Reemay, he was forced to put it back on the crops, incurring extra labor costs.

In addition, George said, he has planted more of each type of crop, in anticipation that some would be destroyed by rot.

"It's just adjusting to the conditions," he said. "The way this rain has been — and it looks like the long-range forecast has been more rain — you just have to increase what you plant so you can maintain your production standards."

He said farming has a case of the "toos:" too much rain can ruin a crop, as can too little. The same thing goes for sunshine, heat and other elements.

Still, George said, he would welcome a drought at this point.

"I love a drought," he said. "You can put the water on; you can't take it off."

As farmers look at future weather — the National Weather Service is forecasting a chance of showers through tonight — concern about their next round of crops is creeping up.

"Our biggest thing is corn," Cervelli said. "It's being slowed down some (by the rain), but hopefully things will straighten out."

Some years, the first ears of corn are ready by the Fourth of July.

"I don't think this is going to be one of those years," Cervelli said.

But it's not all pessimism for the rest of the growing season. Asked if the glut of rain could help rather than hurt a crop, Peckham was hopeful.

"It may help our blueberries," he said. "They are looking pretty good. If the rain's going to affect them, I really can't say."

When all else fails, George said, "Call 1-800-GOD. I've done that a few times."

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