Last year many Massachusetts farmers were begging for rain. This year, they’re begging for it to stop.
As wet weather takes a toll on crops across Massachusetts, farmers say it could impact the produce consumers see on the shelves.
At Volante Farms in Needham, they are still drying out from the storm on Tuesday. There was so much rain, it flooded some of their fields and part of their farm store.
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“It was an unprecedented amount of rain so we just kind of brushed it out as fast as we could. It never rains 3 to 4 inches in an hour,” owner Teri Volante Boardman said.
The wet weather wiped out their basil crop. They also lost a bunch of lettuce, but Volante Boardman said they are still lucky to have other crops and their farm store business. She said it has never been more important to support local farmers.
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“We’re kind of all in this together so while we might not have a certain ingredient that you need, we can probably find a substitute,” Volante Boardman said.
The rain also left some farms underwater in Western Massachusetts. Their crops are a total loss.
At Ward’s Berry Farm, some of their stone fruit was destroyed by this year’s weather pattern.
“For years, people have been coming here to pick peaches and cherries and this is the first year in awhile where were not offering it,” assistant operations manager Myles Qualtor said.
The farm has plenty of other produce and has brought in peaches and cherries from other places. Their pick-your-own business is also extremely weather dependent and they say dry weekends in the fall are crucial.
“Especially for Halloween, one rainy weekend in October can devastate,” Qualtor said.
When it comes to the fall, farmers said consumers might see fewer apple varieties because of the weather and they are keeping a close eye on the pumpkin crop.
