Farms in Philadelphia region feeling impacts of drought: "We've never seen it this dry"
MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) – It has been 23 days without any measurable rain in the Delaware Valley. The worsening drought is taking a toll on agriculture in Delaware County and other parts of the Philadelphia region.
Farmer Norm Schultz from Linvilla Orchards said he's concerned about the thousands of peach, pear and apple trees. This year's crop has already been harvested, but he said without enough rain, the trees won't produce as many flower buds, which could mean less fruit in 2025.
"We're just worried about the trees being under so much stress, how many flowers they're making, and the number of flowers directly impacts the amount of fruit next year," Schultz said.
Another crop he's worried about is Christmas trees, which you can cut yourself the week before Thanksgiving.
"Needle retention is what's like, most important to our customers, that that needle stays tight on the tree," Schutlz said. "We've never seen it this dry going into the cutting season."
Linvilla is using drip irrigation to keep small crops like strawberries moist. One plant that tolerates the drought well is the fig tree, which is capable of surviving in the desert.
Figs, which can survive in the desert, are well adapted to drought, but the severe lack of rainfall lately is making farmers at @ILoveThatPlace worried about the peach, pear and apple trees. Linvilla Orchards is using drip irrigation to keep small crops like strawberries moist. pic.twitter.com/Yx029dJRAf
— Madeleine Wright (@MWrightReports) October 21, 2024
One upside to the lack of rain is that the nice weather makes it more pleasant to visit the farm.
"It's honestly beautiful," customer Cailey Sanchez, from Aston, said. "It's nice — 70. A little chilly in the morning and the night, but right now, it's beautiful."
Schultz said there is such a thing as too many sunny days. He is hoping for an end to the dry spell soon.
South Jersey farm also feeling impacts of drought
Clover Valley Farm in Burlington County, New Jersey, is dealing with similar impacts to Linvilla.
Residents in Southampton Township, Burlington County, haven't seen rainfall in months. The drought is affecting everything from their crops to their livestock and feed to their bottom line.
Clover Valley has six bee hives, but recently when they went to harvest the honey from them they found most of the combs were empty. There's hardly enough honey to last these bees the winter, let alone to sell to their customers.
A pond at Clovery Valley has been reduced to rubble, and a field that's usually green for cows to feed on is dry and cracked due to the lack of moisture in the soil. It's making it impossible to produce silage and grow crops.
The owners of Clover Valley said the farm will be in big trouble if it doesn't receive significant rainfall soon.
"Dire? I don't even want to go there, that's a hard one to wrap your head around," said Danielle Wainwright, who is the co-owner of Clover Valley Farm. "We need to get our fall crops in the ground to sprout this spring. We've tried planting some. If they sprout, are they just going to die because there's not enough moisture to continue? All we can do is pray and hope. That's a hard one to wrap your head around if this continues."
Clover Valley Farm estimates the drought has cost them about 30% of their yield this year.
Only steady, significant rainfall will help bring their business back.