A hot, dry summer prompted the need for rain but some New Brunswick farmers say the ground is now too wet for harvesting crops.
Gary Stephens of Fred Duplessis Farms says that vine-grown vegetables such as acorn squash can’t be harvested because the fields are too wet.
Stephens says the soil is heavy on the farm and it retains moisture, which he says is great during dry weather but makes things difficult when it rains. He says the fields got 2.5 cm of rain overnight.
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“We can’t go into our fields now for about four or five days,” he explained.
Eugene Hoyt, owner of Hoyt Orchards has a stand set-up at Exhibition Place in Fredericton. He says he’s experiencing similar problems with his crops after getting nearly nine cm of rain over the past two weeks.
“I was in the bean field last night and it’s getting kind of muddy and with another inch of rain, it’s going to be really muddy,” Hoyt said.
Hoyt says the rain is great, but only in moderation. He says the apple crop will be huge because of the rain but he hopes it doesn’t rain too much more before harvest.
“We definitely don’t want to see any more rain until probably until mid-September,” Stephens said.
Fredericton and Southern York County had 39.5 mm of rainfall overnight.
Farmers say previous lack of rain is hurting business
Stephens says the previously dry weather throughout June and July has put the corn behind by several weeks.
“The margins are getting tighter this year,” Stephens said.
He says the farm’s road-side vegetable stand is doing well, but not with corn.
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“If you’re late two to three weeks, if you’re bringing in $5,000 to $6,000 every three to four days, I mean that’s a bunch of money that you don’t have for a couple weeks,” Stephens said.
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