Wet summer has left Volante Farms in Needham at the mercy of Mother Nature
NEEDHAM - Teri Volante Boardman looks over her this year's basil crop at Volante Farm in Needham and hopes for drier days ahead.
"All the runoff water that wasn't captured by the catch basin washed this road out and into the field and makes this massive puddle in the middle of the field," Boardman said.
Boardman says the constant severe summer thunderstorms have made it tough for many farms throughout the region. "It's been a very challenging year - very unpredictable - and ... some days, you think you're just going get a little rain and then you get hit with a flood," she said.
Two of the fields have been flooded this summer impacting their lettuce and basil crops. "Right here, we kind of lost - essentially, our entire basil crop, some of our field flowers, some lettuce and some other things that were growing alongside. Luckily, we are a diversified business, so we don't only rely on these crops to sustain us," she said.
Volante Farms is a multi-purpose farm where they grow their own produce and some fruits. They also have their own greenhouse and food market that's always buzzing with customers. The fourth-generation family business has been operating for more than 100 years.
"We've been through worse. We're a pretty tough bunch, so we'll get through it," she said." Our hearts break for people out in western Mass and Vermont who literally lost everything," she said. Last year farms were dealing with a lack of rain. This year farms are getting inundated with too much rain.
"Everything is so wet that it's hard to get on to the ground to plant new things, so there's just going to be a few gaps in the produce we normally have available," she said.
Boardman says farms are at the mercy of mother nature, which impacts their business greatly. "Hopefully, we'll have a nice, dry end-of-the-season, and we will rebound, and we'll be all good," she said.