Natural Weather: Crop Losses in the Northeast

We, as farmers, go to work each day knowing that our greatest partnership is with Nature - she decides much of our fate.  While the whole of humanity is under the same great power(s), much of our livelihood depends on it being in our favor.  The last 4 growing seasons have really been difficult for many farmers and this post is just a reminder of what has occurred in the Northeast.  So remember, everytime you get to support a farmer you are helping us overcome some of these hardships. 

We are working to form a Horse, Hound, & Farm Rescue - in addition to continue our work with adopting horses and hounds, this non profit will provide assistance to farmers with property taxes when the crop losses have made this a daunting task.

2012 Apple Losses

“Most of the trees in Maine did not fruit this year,” he said, moving over to a table with 57 heirloom apple varieties that once flourished in Maine. “We had 80 degrees in March, so the trees flowered. Then it went down to 10 degrees.” Plummeting temperatures killed the flowers, which meant no apples, though orchards in western Maine, where temperatures remained cool, did flower and fruit. - from the nytimes.com.9/30/12

2012 Corn Losses

Yield losses from a drought during pollination can be as high as 100%.

2009 Tomato Losses

In 2009, a new genotype of late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans, US22, caused a disease epidemic throughout the Northeast killing tomato and potato plants in gardens and on commercial farms in the eastern U.S.Classic symptoms are large (at least nickel-sized) olive-green to brown spots on leaves with slightly fuzzy white fungal growth on the underside when conditions have been humid (early morning or after rain). Sometimes the border of the spot is yellow or has a water-soaked appearance. Spots begin tiny, irregularly shaped and brown. Firm, brown spots develop on tomato fruit.  Late blight is the same disease that caused the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s. It has never occurred this early and this widespread in the U.S. One of the most visible early symptoms of the disease is brown spots (lesions) on stems. - from Cornell.edu  Yield losses caused by late blight and the cost of control measures have been estimated to exceed 6.7 billion dollars annually and the disease is a major threat to food security worldwide.   -from usablight.org