By Becky Nelson
It has been super dry around here for several weeks. We haven’t had significant rainfall in over two months, and the soil is starting to cry for moisture. This seems to put things on repeat at the farm, with a drought a couple of years ago stunting the growth of raspberry canes and leading to a reduced production the next year. As I picked some fall raspberries the other day and continued work in the raspberry field pruning out old growth, I noted the new growth is about a foot and a half shorter than last year’s canes. This may lead to trouble, but we did not repair the broken irrigation system in the patch, just letting nature take its course, so we are equally at fault if production is down. I pulled a couple of weeds while working, and the soil was completely dry and dusty down to the base of the roots.
Other crops are suffering as well. The pumpkin size is down, and the fields are dry with plants withering. We got the seed in pretty late this spring, so we were hoping for a long, warm growing season. We certainly have had the warmth, but not enough water to go with it. The late-season cucumbers are doing the same, with reduced production and size of fruit the key. Late season corn is also suffering a bit, with short stalks and short ears. We should be thankful we have any production at all this late in the season, but the droughty conditions may lead to reduced sap and maple production, which has us a bit concerned.
I saw a rather disturbing scenario as I made my way from Walpole to home the other day as I drove past some cornfields near the Connecticut River. Big clouds of dust that looked like smoke puffed above equipment that was cutting corn along the river meadows, a sight I have never seen before. Usually our soils around here hold some moisture into the fall, and to see such a sight was a bit of a shock.
Heading into fall this dry as the leaves fall, I would caution all of you to think twice before firing up your backyard firepits or disposing of any flammables like hot charcoal when you have a cookout. We certainly don’t need any wildfires around, as it would be easy for flames to race through the forests when things are this dry. Though we are not in drought in Sullivan County, we are in an “abnormally dry” period, so caution is the key.
Until we get some showers, I think we should all be thankful that we are not enduring wildfires like out west, hurricanes like the Gulf States or other weather horrors or natural disasters like elsewhere in the world. According to the worldwide drought monitor, “a significant portion of the world’s agricultural lands was still suffering from low soil moisture and groundwater levels — especially in the Americas, Africa, eastern Europe, and parts of Asia — and satellite observations showed stressed vegetation on most continents. The GEOGLAM Crop Monitor indicated that agriculture was most threatened in parts of Central and South America, Africa, Europe, southwest Russia, southern Australia, northeastern China, and southeast Asia. The Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWSNet) revealed significant food insecurity continuing in parts of Central and South America, Southwest Asia, and much of Africa. GEOGLAM statistics estimated about a fourth (25%) of the global maize (corn) crop and a third (36%) of the global wheat crop were under poor or drought watch conditions at the end of July.”
This is a scary scenario as croplands in many parts of the world have absolutely no water to continue growing crops. Farmers in some parts of Europe, according to the report, are pulling failed crops and slaughtering animals because there is no feed and no water to support meat production. When I read these reports, my heart sinks for the condition of our worldwide brothers and sisters. You may think global warming is not a real “thing,” but any conditions that lead to the loss of food production are horrifying and as serious as it gets. These are not conditions that can change in a hurry when and if rains relieve global droughts as it takes time to grow food. We need to make some changes … everywhere. Maybe we should take this into account when we hit the ballot box in November and let our legislators know what we are thinking.
