Area farmers feel the strain of ongoing drought

Aug. 19—Last summer, Foggy Hill Farm in Jaffrey lost nearly all of its potato crop in the July floods, according to owner Christine Pressman.

Many other local farms saw similar challenges, losing crops and temporarily suspending business due to deluged streets.

This year, farmers are facing the opposite problem.

As of Thursday, 99 percent of New Hampshire was experiencing some level of drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, ranging from abnormally dry in the north to moderate and severe drought in the south approaching the Massachusetts border.

Different parts of Cheshire County are categorized as in moderate or severe drought, and neighboring Sullivan County is seeing abnormally dry conditions and moderate drought.

The lower edge of Hillsborough County along the state line was updated to extreme drought Thursday.

Other areas of the country are seeing severe, extreme and in some cases, exceptional levels of drought, including Texas and California.

"This year's odd weather pattern has been very difficult," Pressman said.

Although Foggy Hill Farm has access to water through the town's supply, she said she still conserves water where she can due to high costs.

Putting organic mulch on the soil's surface prevents water evaporation, reducing the amount needed for plants to survive, Pressman said. Drip irrigation also conserves water by concentrating the flow to the roots where it is needed most.

However, these methods have not been enough for her crops to fully withstand the drought's effects.

Because of the dry conditions, Pressman said her crops, including green beans, tomatoes and other produce, have been peaking early — meaning instead of her being able to pick from the same patch for three weeks at a time, for example, that period has been shortened to two weeks.

"We can give the plants enough water to live, but not the full 2 inches a week that they would like to actually thrive," said Pressman, who has been farming in Jaffrey for 10 years.

Just over 30 miles west is Picadilly Farm in Winchester, owned by Bruce and Jenny Wooster.

Due to the drought, Bruce said, the farm is experiencing setbacks with certain crops, such as winter squash and fall broccoli.

"[The drought] makes our farming more stressful," he said.

To water their 28 acres of crops, he said they use shallow groundwater pumped from nearby wells. While this has been enough to carry them through the season so far, Bruce said they could see the wells dry up soon.

However, he commended the farm's crew of workers, saying everyone has been "work[ing] hard to get water out."

John Janiszyn, owner of Pete's Stand in Walpole, said he started to see the effects of the drought within the past couple weeks.

The patch of carrots they planted about a week ago has failed to grow, he said — their third attempt this season to plant carrots.

"Everything has slowed down," Janiszyn said.

Since Pete's Stand does not use any irrigation practices, Janiszyn said there is not much to be done to preserve and support the crops. He said he tries to disturb the soil as little as possible, but is waiting on natural rainfall.

After 20 years in farming, Janiszyn said he has come to expect extreme weather conditions each growing season, whether it be heavy rain or severe drought.

"This is the business; this is the life we chose," he said.

Not all local farms are reporting dryness-related difficulties this season, though.

Kim Peavey, co-owner of Hillside Springs Farm in Westmoreland, said the drought's lack of impact on her farm comes down to luck.

She said they have benefited from recent rainfall, with most storms hitting Hillside Springs Farm. This, in addition to a drip- irrigation system, has kept the farm from feeling drastic effects, Peavey said.

Pressman said she is feeling a sense of strain among many Monadnock Region farmers to maintain business amid harsh weather conditions, like this summer's drought and last year's floods.

"We are all tired," she said. "Not just all physically tired, but emotionally drained from trying to manage one disastrous season after another."

Caitlin Howard can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1441, or choward@keenesentinel.com.