Region’s farmers grappling with heat, dry weather
In Southwestern Pennsylvania, a moderate drought, coupled with a recent heat wave, is impacting the agricultural sector.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, several Pennsylvania counties, including Washington, Greene and Fayette, experienced moderate to severe drought conditions in July, while other counties in the area have dealt with abnormal dryness.
Farmers are dealing with the weather, which has impacted their crop yields, as best they can.
Sheila Harden McConn, who with her husband, Fred McConn, own Harden Family Farm in Deemston Borough, said there is little to do but hope for rainfall.
“The weather has been so dry. We finally got rainfall (Tuesday), so that was a really good day for us. We were excited,” said McConn, who ticked off a list of challenges facing farmers this season, which also include the heat and wildlife. “I tell people if you want to be a gambler, you don’t have to go to Las Vegas. Be a farmer. You gamble if the weather’s going to be OK or if the animals are going to eat your crops.”
The McConns grow a variety of produce, including cabbage, tomatoes, corn, green beans, peaches, plums, apples, and their crop production has been impacted this year.
“Our potatoes turned out to be a terrible crop,” she said. “We’ve had one cutting on our hay, and if we have a second, it will be a miracle.”
Mark Duda of Duda’s Farm Inc. in Fayette County said the lack of rain and the heat “have been awful.”
“The weather has had a lot to do with low crop yields. We’re pumping as much water as we can so we can irrigate crops” in an effort to reduce crop loss, said Duda.
According to the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, the region has experienced moderate to severe drought in July, with below average rainfall. About 2.05 inches of precipitation were recorded, and the average high temperature was 87.1 degrees.
For the first seven months of the year, the area has experienced temperatures that are more than 5 degrees above normal overall. Although average precipitation in the region is about 2.2 inches below normal in July, it is about 4.5 inches above normal for the year, due to rainfall earlier in the year, according to the NWS.
Temperatures are expected to remain slightly above average through August.
Duda said Duda’s Farm has had enough water in ponds and streams to irrigate crops such as tomatoes, peppers, onions, beets, and zucchini, “but I’ve talked to some farmers and the ponds are running out of water to irrigate, so you have to pick and choose how much water you’re going to use and what crops you’re going to water.”
Christina Becker, owner of Fruit Hill Farms, a livestock farm in Fayette County, said the pastures she and her husband, Darrell, operate “are just down to nothing.”
The couple has resorted to using winter hay to feed their cattle, sheep and pigs.
“There’s just been no rain lately. In a year when the weather situation is as terrible as it has been this summer, there’s nothing in the pasture for (livestock) to eat, so to supplement them we have to provide hay for them. It really hurts when you have to use your winter stores during the summer,” said Becker.
Jim Lindley of Lindley Orchard Partnership, based in Scenery Hill, planted about 700 acres of corn and soybeans on his property and on other local farms this summer. He said the lack of rain has taken a toll.
“The soybean plants should be knee-high now, but some are only four to six inches tall. Some are a little taller, but they stopped growing taller because the soybean goes into protection mode, and to survive they quit growing and wait for rain,” said Lindley. “The corn is spotty. It has sort of dried up from lack of moisture. Yields are going to be down significantly. We know it’s not going to be a good crop.”