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Farms fare well in storm, but a bad season overall
By Francesca Olsen
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
COLUMBIA COUNTY
Farmers have had it bad this year, starting with a dangerous and destructive winter ice storm, followed by a spring drought, followed by a summer of unprecedented rainfall. On Thursday morning, the county’s farmers struggled to cope with more damage from the worst rainstorm yet this season.
Steffen Schneider, general manager of Hawthorne Valley Farm in Ghent, said there was “a somber mood on the farm today.”
“The area where we grow most of our vegetables got damaged pretty severely,” he said. “It’s almost like adding insult to injury after having such a wet year. I guess it was pretty widespread.”
Schneider estimated that he lost about $50,000 in sales from damages to the farm, since his garden was flooded. “It’s amazing what the water does when it goes over the banks,” he said. “We were already affected by the blight. This is not helping us.”
The National Weather Service in Albany reported a wide range of rainfall totals for Columbia County: 1.54 inches in Ancramdale, 2.1 inches in Livingston, 4.68 inches in North Hillsdale, 4.81 inches in North Chatham, 4.85 inches in Craryville, 4.9 inches in Stuyvesant Falls, 5.5 inches in Central Chatham, and 7.21 inches in Kinderhook. The Albany airport logged 1.66 inches of rain for Wednesday night’s storm.
Pete Yonder of Yonder Fruit Farms in Valatie said he got 5.75 inches of rain. “We have damage, but the biggest problem is uprooting the trees. As far as the fruit trees, I have some tippage,” he said.
“The biggest problem is that some fruits aren’t getting ripe like other fruit. The peaches are ripening very slowly. Otherwise, the apples are growing, and we sure don’t have to irrigate.”
“It’s tough keeping fungicides on the trees,” said Yonder. “Every time you get rain the trees have to be covered with a fungicide. It’s been a challenge to keep things so that they don’t rot and decay.”
Columbia County Cornell Cooperative Extension Field Crop Specialist Steve Hadcock said most of the farmers he spoke with Thursday morning didn’t experience a lot of crop damage in the storm. “The flooding itself hasn’t done a lot of damage. The long term impact of more rain is certainly worrisome,” he said.
“It’s not going to help the pest pressure for the fungus diseases that many vegetable growers are still fighting, and it’s certainly going to be nearly impossible to make any hay for a few days until the ground dries out,” said Hadcock.
Lee Ranney at Kinderhook Farm in Valatie was still evaluating Thursday morning. “We haven’t really assessed it yet but have several fields flooded,” he said. Kinderhook Farm has 600 tillable acres.
Ranney said making hay has been a battle all season due to the rain. “We’re finally through first cutting. We’ve been pretty fortunate compared with some other people.”
Taylor Tribble at Red Oak Farm in Stuyvesant said “At the moment our fields are relatively well-drained. At this point, it’s hard to tell if anything is rotting in the ground that wasn’t beforehand with all the other wet weather.”
Red Oak Farm is an organic farm, so spraying and re-spraying of pesticides isn’t a problem, but plant diseases are. Tribble reported that he had late blight on his tomatoes before the storm.
“It’s a loss, obviously, but not devastating,” Tribble said. “We still have to see what falls out after this rain now.” Tribble has 4.5 acres in active production.
Governor David Paterson has requested the USDA designate 17 counties in New York as agricultural disaster areas, and Columbia County is one of them. Excessive rain has contributed to crop loss, difficulty working in the fields due to mud, and the spreading of diseases like late blight. The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets has confirmation of late blight in all but 19 of the counties in New York outside of New York City’s five boroughs.
Schneider said even though he’s facing so much in losses, he won’t be able to apply for disaster relief due to an income limit. “Our income is above that limit so we never qualify for disaster relief,” he said.
Although they’ve faced setback after setback, farmers are still hopeful.
“This has been the most challenging year of farming in my entire career,” said Schneider. “But if you want to see a bright side, maybe it’ll get us more on the same page of the side of food and agriculture for our lives.”
“We’re still hopeful,” said Ranney. “Remember, we still have a whole ‘nother month of summer.”
To reach reporter Francesca Olsen call 518-828-1616, ext. 2272, or e-mail folsen@registerstar.com.
Farmers have had it bad this year, starting with a dangerous and destructive winter ice storm, followed by a spring drought, followed by a summer of unprecedented rainfall. On Thursday morning, the county’s farmers struggled to cope with more damage from the worst rainstorm yet this season.
Steffen Schneider, general manager of Hawthorne Valley Farm in Ghent, said there was “a somber mood on the farm today.”
“The area where we grow most of our vegetables got damaged pretty severely,” he said. “It’s almost like adding insult to injury after having such a wet year. I guess it was pretty widespread.”
Schneider estimated that he lost about $50,000 in sales from damages to the farm, since his garden was flooded. “It’s amazing what the water does when it goes over the banks,” he said. “We were already affected by the blight. This is not helping us.”
The National Weather Service in Albany reported a wide range of rainfall totals for Columbia County: 1.54 inches in Ancramdale, 2.1 inches in Livingston, 4.68 inches in North Hillsdale, 4.81 inches in North Chatham, 4.85 inches in Craryville, 4.9 inches in Stuyvesant Falls, 5.5 inches in Central Chatham, and 7.21 inches in Kinderhook. The Albany airport logged 1.66 inches of rain for Wednesday night’s storm.
Pete Yonder of Yonder Fruit Farms in Valatie said he got 5.75 inches of rain. “We have damage, but the biggest problem is uprooting the trees. As far as the fruit trees, I have some tippage,” he said.
“The biggest problem is that some fruits aren’t getting ripe like other fruit. The peaches are ripening very slowly. Otherwise, the apples are growing, and we sure don’t have to irrigate.”
“It’s tough keeping fungicides on the trees,” said Yonder. “Every time you get rain the trees have to be covered with a fungicide. It’s been a challenge to keep things so that they don’t rot and decay.”
Columbia County Cornell Cooperative Extension Field Crop Specialist Steve Hadcock said most of the farmers he spoke with Thursday morning didn’t experience a lot of crop damage in the storm. “The flooding itself hasn’t done a lot of damage. The long term impact of more rain is certainly worrisome,” he said.
“It’s not going to help the pest pressure for the fungus diseases that many vegetable growers are still fighting, and it’s certainly going to be nearly impossible to make any hay for a few days until the ground dries out,” said Hadcock.
Lee Ranney at Kinderhook Farm in Valatie was still evaluating Thursday morning. “We haven’t really assessed it yet but have several fields flooded,” he said. Kinderhook Farm has 600 tillable acres.
Ranney said making hay has been a battle all season due to the rain. “We’re finally through first cutting. We’ve been pretty fortunate compared with some other people.”
Taylor Tribble at Red Oak Farm in Stuyvesant said “At the moment our fields are relatively well-drained. At this point, it’s hard to tell if anything is rotting in the ground that wasn’t beforehand with all the other wet weather.”
Red Oak Farm is an organic farm, so spraying and re-spraying of pesticides isn’t a problem, but plant diseases are. Tribble reported that he had late blight on his tomatoes before the storm.
“It’s a loss, obviously, but not devastating,” Tribble said. “We still have to see what falls out after this rain now.” Tribble has 4.5 acres in active production.
Governor David Paterson has requested the USDA designate 17 counties in New York as agricultural disaster areas, and Columbia County is one of them. Excessive rain has contributed to crop loss, difficulty working in the fields due to mud, and the spreading of diseases like late blight. The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets has confirmation of late blight in all but 19 of the counties in New York outside of New York City’s five boroughs.
Schneider said even though he’s facing so much in losses, he won’t be able to apply for disaster relief due to an income limit. “Our income is above that limit so we never qualify for disaster relief,” he said.
Although they’ve faced setback after setback, farmers are still hopeful.
“This has been the most challenging year of farming in my entire career,” said Schneider. “But if you want to see a bright side, maybe it’ll get us more on the same page of the side of food and agriculture for our lives.”
“We’re still hopeful,” said Ranney. “Remember, we still have a whole ‘nother month of summer.”
To reach reporter Francesca Olsen call 518-828-1616, ext. 2272, or e-mail folsen@registerstar.com.
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