Article via the New Hampshire Bulletin
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New Hampshire farmers like Danny Hicks have faced one hit after another due to abnormal weather this growing season.
Hicks, who owns Sunnycrest Farm in Londonderry, said a February cold snap took out most of the farm’s stone fruit, including summer favorites like peaches, cherries, and plums. Then, to make matters worse, May saw a night below freezing, just as some trees were in bloom.
“It went down to 26 degrees here for like six hours, and that’s all it needs. So it took out I want to say 40 percent of our apples and that was kind of like, you know, the icing on the cake,” he said.
Recent intense rainfall is creating a different problem. Hicks said while crops such as pumpkins thrive with increased rainfall, other crops can “drown.” After severe storms this month, some crops were immediately replanted because of flooding, he said. In other parts of the state, crops were covered by several feet of water.
New Hampshire has over 4,000 farms and 97 percent are family-owned, according to the most recent data from the 2017 census of agriculture. The majority bring in less than $10,000 in sales each year, making this year’s losses devastating for some. State officials have requested aid from the federal government in hopes of mitigating the damage. The Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire has also created its own emergency farmer relief fund for farmers recovering from summer flooding. READ MORE
