Dry and wet summer could hurt local crops

Its been a long hot summer for area farmers. “Well its been a very dry year. It started out kind of nice then it got really wet and that really put us behind to start with 2 or 3 weeks because we couldn’t plant when it was critical,” said Bob Colby of Colby Farms. Colby says that late start has taken its’ toll on some crops. “The first impact that we saw is done now we’re done harvesting our wheat and our peas and our peas were down by 50 percent,” said Colby. Monroe County Agricultural Director Bob King says the “see saw” dry and wet weather has actually benefited some crops. “The apple crops are having a banner year peaches are top notch a lot of fruit farmers are able to irrigate but for farmers, grain farmers, people that raise hay they typically dont irrigate and theyre suffering from the lack of rain that weve had,” said King. To make up for the lack of rain, Colby uses a pipeline to pull water from a nearby pond to make sure his crops get the necessary water they need. “Every time we irrigate we’re talking about running the pump 18 hours a day,” said Colby. Despite the up and down year, Colby says consumer should see little impact at the market. He sums up this years crop with an old wives tale. “A dry year is better if you’re the consumer because usually the local product is usually a little better,” added Colby.