Nice weather for ducks, not so much for crops
Nurseries, however, enjoying benefits of all the rain
BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer
Adry year will scare you. A wet year will starve you. That's the advice Bob Faber's father gave him about farming when he was a kid, and the 72- year-old Faber has never forgotten it.

Faber, who also serves on the Upper Freehold Township Committee, said the heavy rainfall over the past month has "really taken a toll on farmers. It will affect their income at the end of the year." He added that, like most farmers, he has crop insurance. While he has never had to use his insurance before, he fears it will be needed this year.

According to Faber, some crops, like strawberries, have been totally ruined. He said that those growing hay and straw had to plow a lot back into the ground rather than harvest it due to the amount of rainfall. It is also getting near the time to plant other crops, and the wet ground will affect harvest yield, he said. If pumpkins are planted too late, they will not turn orange enough by the fall, he said.

Roger Gravatt, Upper Freehold, farms 500 acres of hay, 250 acres of rye straw, and 200 acres of soybeans. He said this is the worst year he has ever seen. "You usually get a week of bad weather — not five weeks," he said. Some hay was baled May 22, and good hay generally needs to be baled for two weeks. Gravatt was only able to start baling again June 29.

"You need three full days for the cutting and baling. It must dry," he explained. While the quantity of hay will be there for the horse industry, the quality will not be, he said. Gravatt noted that the horse industry was ailing as well, and the hay situation just throws more fuel on the fire.

All the rainfall has made farming a challenge, said Marty Bullock, Upper Freehold. His family raises straw and pumpkins for the Halloween market, and he agreed with Gravatt that the straw would not be the best quality. The rain has delayed some pumpkin planting. Last year they planted pumpkins as late as the first week in July, in time for the late market, he said. The market drops off sharply after the second week in October, according to Bullock. On the positive side, he said that corn planted on high ground is looking good, although he could not say the same about corn planted low.

Livestock is affected by the wet weather as well. Joanne Bicknese, who raises goats on her Locustwood Farm in Upper Freehold, said there is plenty of browse for the goats, but she worries about high worm loads on the pastures when there is a lot of wet weather.

"These high internal parasite loads can be life threatening for goats and sheep, and we are keeping an extra close watch for any signs of parasitism," she said.

Bicknese added that she likes to buy her hay locally, and it's been tough for farmers to get the hay made with all this wet weather.

Depending on what is being produced, the rainfall can also be a blessing. Halka Nurseries in Millstone benefits from all the precipitation. "For us in the nursery, we love it. If it rained like this all summer it would be fine by us. The more rain we get, the faster our trees grow," according to owner Chet Halka.