WHATELY — A hot summer sun beats down on small cabbage plants poking up from a parched landscape, which would’ve been long since withered and dead if not for lifesaving water supplied by a sprinkler system stretched across the fields of Manheim Farm.
“It’s like walking on the moon,” commented Hugh Manheim, owner of the farm, about the conditions of his fields. “What you can’t water is dust in the wind.”
He’s right: Out on the cabbage field, the earth is so dry it crumbles through fingers and dissipates into the warm breeze in a lingering cloud.
The earth is thirsty, and farmers just can’t seem to catch a break. Regional rainfall is so low this year that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has classified this summer as a severe drought.
“Everyone in the valley says it’s the worst they’ve seen,” Manheim said. “We had parsnips that were just lying down, I’ve never seen that.”
Manheim, who has been farming for about 25 years, agrees with those who say this is one of the worst droughts seen. About 10 percent of his crops have been lost already due to the lack of rain, even with sprinklers running up to eight hours per day.
The farm on River Road sells wholesale produce — everything from turnips to butternut squash — to supermarkets such as Big Y, Shaw’s, Stop and Shop and Market Basket.
Because of the drought, farmers across the region, including Manheim, have been forced to irrigate their fields by pumping water through sprinklers from rivers, ponds and streams.
“The biggest part is getting water onto the field,” said Meghan Arquin, who owns Riverland Farm in Sunderland with her husband, Rob Lynch. “It adds a lot to the workload,” she said. “The other thing we’re concerned about is the fall crops.”
Arquin compared the dirt on her fields to flour, and said this is the worst drought she’s seen in 10 years of farming.
To make matters worse, Gary Gemme, owner of Harvest Farm on Long Plain Road, said ponds are drying up and rivers are declining, making it difficult for farmers to irrigate.
“This is a real endurance test,” he said. “Everything is on life support. It has just stepped up to a new level.”
Following a July 8 drought advisory news release for the Connecticut River Valley, Mass. Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matthew Beaton warned that “drought conditions can contribute to lasting agricultural, environmental, and economic impacts, and also raise serious public safety concerns.”
According to the release, a drought advisory is the second of five levels of drought conditions, and causes state and federal agencies to closely monitor regional conditions.
The release went on to say that rainfall has been in the decline in the Pioneer Valley since March, “with cumulative precipitation deficits of four to five inches below normal for the months of April, May and June.”
As far as groundwater levels go, at least “17 streams across the four regions impacted by drought have registered record-low flows for early July.”
All that being said, despite a rough start to the summer, Manheim said it’s not too late for rain to turn things around.
“Some things are done, others can still bounce back,” he said. “If it rains Friday, it’ll bail us out. Cross your fingers and toes for Friday.”