Hit hard by the worst drought in more than a decade, Northeast dairy and vegetable farmers are making difficult sacrifices.
“Some private wells have dried up. Farmers face millions of dollars in lost crops, and federal agricultural officials have declared much of New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut a natural disaster area,” says The New York Times. Fifth-generation dairy farmer Allen Smith told the paper that his hayfields are so dry “it sounds like you’re walking in potato chips.” In order to get his 160 cows through the winter, he expects he’ll have to spend $300 or $400 per day on feed.
Other dairy farms in the region are also struggling. “Nineteen of New Hampshire’s 120 dairy farms have already gone out of business this year, mostly because of low milk prices, and the drought has made it harder for those that survive,” says the Times.
Vegetable growers haven’t escaped the lack of rain either. “This year was three months, basically all summer long with no rain, and it caught us off guard,” said Chris Kurth, the owner of Siena Farms, west of Boston. “All told, we’re looking at about a 50 percent crop loss.” However, certain crops like tomatoes and beets seem to be thriving under the sear conditions, perhaps because the dry heat has also beaten back pests and fungi.
Climatologists don’t expect a change in the region’s precipitation until the end of the year.