New Jersey officials considering declaring drought warning as dry conditions continue
New Jersey is now considering declaring a drought warning as dry conditions continue throughout the Garden State.
In the driving wind and after weeks of dry weather, Jeff Tober harvested red cabbage Tuesday afternoon much smaller in size than years past.
"It's still alive, it's getting there, but we should have been harvesting this a couple of weeks ago," said Tober, the farm manager at Rancocas Creek Farm in Southampton, Burlington County.
Tober grows produce and organic vegetables but says he's never seen the 20 acres of farmland this brown and dry. Since Aug. 17, he says the farm has only had about 3/10 of an inch of rain.
"This past Sunday night we got another 3/10, so that's half an inch of rain in nearly three months. Normally, in that time we'll get 10-12 inches of rain," he said.
A drought watch was issued in New Jersey in mid-October. With state reservoirs and groundwater levels below normal and dropping quickly, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection held a public hearing Tuesday on the current drought conditions.
"Since mid-August, almost three months, we have a deficit of 10 inches. Two inches has fallen, so again that shows you the magnitude," Dave Robinson, the NJ State Climatologist, said.
The DEP is now evaluating going to a drought warning to preserve the state's water supplies. That means people and businesses are still encouraged to voluntarily conserve water. If conditions don't improve, a drought emergency could be declared with mandatory restrictions.
Tober spoke at the meeting and called the past few weeks brutal on the farm. He says he already saw lower yields of potatoes, lettuce, and leeks from the dry weather, and now he's concerned about next year.
"We have not been able to get cover crops in, which is really essential for protecting the soil for the winter," Tober said.
Gov. Phil Murphy, the DEP and other state officials will hold another briefing Wednesday morning to discuss the possible drought warning status and the ongoing impacts of this period without significant rainfall.