By Jade Greene
This year may turn out to be a record breaker of dry conditions. So far, Bucks County has received a deficit of rain compared to an average year and it looks like this dry spell will continue. How do these conditions impact local farmers?
As of 11/1/24: although PA DEP has not announced a drought watch yet, Drought.gov reports all of Bucks County is experiencing “Moderate Drought” to “Severe Drought.” The effects can be seen in the low creek and pond levels, drying up wells, dusty soil, and even brush fires which are usually rare. Farmers, who are the front lines of weather, are also experiencing an unprecedented and challenging autumn. We reached out to local farmers to learn how they have been impacted.
The farmers at Hundred Fruit Farm in Buckingham grow a variety of fruits, vegetables, and pasture-raised animals. They say:
“This has been the driest year we’ve ever seen in the nine years since we started our farm. As a regenerative farm, we irrigate almost nothing here besides our veggies; instead we rely on the heavy use of wood chip mulch for our berry plants and fruit trees. It’s very dry out here, but under the mulch, the soil still has moisture and every established tree and shrub is doing just fine.
But the drought definitely impacts the pasture and newly planted trees/shrubs. We have been moving a sprinkler around to keep little sections of the pasture green so we can still graze our sheep without needing to rely on hay, but it means a bit of extra work on our part. Thankfully we don’t have too many newly planted trees/shrubs this year, but for the few that we did plant in the last year, we try to give them each a bucket of water every month to make sure they get the care that they need. The mulch will help that water last throughout the entire month and beyond.”
Tinicum CSA, a vegetable farm in Tinicum is feeling the effects of the dry weather as well, “the lack of rain makes us have to work a lot harder to keep the irrigation going. It directly increases our workload.”
Hollow House Farms in Furlong use aquaponics techniques to grow their lettuce. “One of the benefits of aquaponics is it’s a recirculating water system so we only use the water we initially put in to start the system and that’s all we ever need so it uses way less water than traditional farming!” The drought has had minimal impact on their farm.
First Fruits Farm in Pipersville is feeling the drought too. They pasture-raise animals and grow produce and can see the impacts:
“As we rotationally graze our animals in our pasture you can tell how dry it has been, grass’ aren’t as green or lush as they should be this time of year, and trying to put in the temporary step in posts to form the next section of pasture for the animals is like trying to put them into concrete, breaking multiple posts every week as we move animals.
But the biggest impact we will feel this fall/winter, as we like to try and stock up as much good pasture to keep the animals on grass as long as possible before starting to feed hay. As it stands right now the chunk of ground we normally keep as late fall/early winter grazing is more weedy and very minimal grass/clover, so we’ll be using much more hay than we would like this winter.”
Roots to River Farm, a vegetable farm in Solebury, explains why our local farmers are so important to a resilient food system, especially during times of challenging weather:
“Farms and farm workers are on the front lines of the effects of climate change and it will make it harder to produce food both on a local and global scale. As a region, working hard to support local food producers and small businesses will make us more resilient to the challenges that will come with climate change. Plus supporting local food producers means you get to eat more delicious food!”
THANK YOU FARMERS FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK TO BRING FOOD TO OUR TABLES!
Regenerative Farming and Water Use
As climate change effects continue to impact our area, it will be important to pivot to conserve water. Luckily many of our local farmers are already doing just that – using regenerative farming practices!
The main concept of regenerative agriculture is building soil health. Healthy soil is like a sponge for water, its organic matter-rich structure allows water to infiltrate, soak, and be stored in the soil. Compare that to conventional farm soil which is compacted and has low organic matter causing water to run off or puddle without much infiltration.
Healthy soil needs less irrigation because water is actually stored in the soil, which crops can access! Of course farmers will still need to irrigate their crops but whatever water is applied will be more efficiently stored by the soil and uptaken by plants!
Home gardens can apply some of these tips to be drought ready:
- Increase your soil’s organic matter – add organic matter (like compost and leaves) to your garden beds.
- Use cover crops – when not using your beds, plant cover crops. They will protect soil, return nutrients, and increase organic matter.
- Maximize water – water in cooler hours of the day, only water the soil, not plant leaves/stems. Consider installing drip irrigation hose.
- Use mulch – apply mulch (like leaf mulch or local, undyed wood chips) to help hold the moisture in your soil.
- Plant native plants – native plants have deep roots and need less water than many imported ornamentals.
Irrigation at Blooming Glen Farm in Perkasie
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