Northeastern Farmers Face New Challenges With Severe Drought

[TTL News 306]

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Vermont farmer Brian Kemp is used to seeing the pastures at Mountain Meadows Farm grow slower in the hot, late summer, but this year the grass is at a standstill. 

That’s “very nerve-wracking” when you’re grazing 600 to 700 cattle, said Kemp, who manages an organic beef farm in Sudbury. He describes the weather lately as inconsistent and impactful, which he attributes to a changing climate. 

“I don’t think there is any normal anymore,” Kemp said.

The impacts of climate change have been felt throughout the Northeastern U.S. with rising sea levels, heavy precipitation and storm surges causing flooding and coastal erosion. But this summer has brought another extreme: a severe drought that is making lawns crispy and has farmers begging for steady rain. The heavy, short rainfall brought by the occasional thunderstorm tends to run off, not soak into the ground.

 

Read the rest here.

What changes have you made to your routine or what effects have you seen from this year's drought conditions?

[Chris 2,147]

I'm pretty much done with watering the garden. It's "The Hunger Games" out there for the plants that still remain. The exception to that is our new blueberry plants and trees. Those cost way more than a pack of seeds. 

Conserving water in the well hasn't been as easy with all four of us in the house this Summer, and possibly not as necessary as I make it out the be. The area of yard where the well water comes from has been pretty green throughout. Still, we're limiting laundry and running the dishwater because it's the smart thing to do. 

[Hal 340]

I believe this is one of those cases where our location benefits us in a drought situation in that our water tables are determined by the level of water in our creeks . Some newer wells that have been drilled have gone well ( pardon pun please ) below the water table quite needlessly because either the driller was just trying to make more money by drilling beyond the gravel point and into clay and hardpan or the homeowner is unaware of the water table indicators, ie the creek beds and gravel point . I also believe your well depth and mine here are within five feet of the same depth . 
But to your point , if I were to need irrigation out in the field or even for the closer raised beds i would be tempted to drive a well point instead of tapping into the well which in the case here has not gone dry in the many years of living here and never has according to neighbors that were at one time dependent on this source for their homes . For you I know the closer creek has dried up and the main creek is too far to continuously get water for the garden but I have always though that as with your the new neighbors If i were to plant corn etc that close to the creek i would pumping from the creek since its quite close to the crop . 
Man that guys corn has been green and healthy all through this drought and i think we have seen some irrigation using the barn well which again is drawing from the water table … the creek . 
Probably veered off topic here but I have seen water wells drilled to 120 feet when 30 to 40 would have been sufficient seeing a creek close by with water in them .