The sustained drought that has hit the Northeast is having a mixed effect on crops. In southern Maine tomato crops are benefiting, but on the other hand, broccoli is suffering.
Farmers are finding irrigation difficult to keep up with and customers are finding lettuce and mesclun mix harder to find at markets, but watermelons and cantaloupe are tasting juicy, according to the Portland Press Herald.
"I think by and large the produce will be there," Walter Whitcomb, commissioner of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, told the Press Herald. "The drought isn't universal, and it's not severe yet." In fact, Maine has fared better than many other New England States.
The National Drought Monitor said the southern half of Maine is experiencing abnormally dry conditions or worse, according to the Associated Press. The National Weather Service said precipitation in much of Maine has been well below normal since April.
"A lot of our crops are coming in sooner because of the warm temperatures," Mark Hutton, vegetable specialist and assistant professor of vegetable crops at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Service, told the Press Herald. "Yields in general are pretty good, particularly from the farms that have the capability to irrigate, which most of our farmers do to some extent."
Source: mainebiz.biz
