Harvest shows signs of haywire weather; Quirky summer of rain, thunder, hail.

Byline: Bradford L. Miner

At Elm View Farm in Warren Friday, David W. Shepard was baling hay.

It was still the second cutting, not the third cutting of a normal summer.

"I should have been finished haying at least a month ago, if not earlier," he said.

"The fields never really dried out. We made enough hay this summer, but some of it may not all be of the quality we'd like to have seen."

While National Weather Service records don't establish this past summer as the wettest on record, it just seemed like it - especially to those whose livelihood depends on growing fruit, vine crops for fall harvest, summer vegetables and hay.

For the months of May through August, the National Weather Service at Worcester Regional Airport recorded 19.5 inches of rain and 22 days with thunderstorms.

Conditions not only varied widely throughout Central Massachusetts, but frequently from one town to another.

Randy Morse, 59, of Morse Farm in Southbridge, said bar none, the past summer was one of the most challenging growing seasons he can remember.

"And after dealing with the wettest summer I can remember, Thursday night we were harvesting as much as we could, because of the forecast of frost," he said.

Frost and hard freeze may have touched northern New England farms and orchards, but the temperature throughout much of Central Massachusetts never got below 40 degrees, according to several farmers and fruit growers.

William G. "Kip" Graham, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency office for Worcester County, said at this point there doesn't appear to be sufficient widespread damage from the wet - and sometimes violent - weather to support a general crop loss program this year.

"There's been some damage, and depending where you were in Central Massachusetts it was literally a hit-or-miss proposition. Some orchards definitely were touched by hail as severe thunderstorms rolled through," Mr. Graham said.

Apple growers in the eastern part of the county had the most difficulty with hail damage, he said.

"For awhile it seemed like we were having thunderstorms in one part of the county or another every other day. Despite that, most of the fruit growers I've talked with have had an excellent peach crop and a really good apple crop this year."

Mr. Graham said he expects the public, particularly families looking for "pick-your-own" opportunities, to have no trouble finding apples this fall.

Albert Rose at Red Apple Farm in Phillipston said he was fortunate that only his peaches were grazed by hail.

"We got hit by hail on three occasions," he said. "Fortunately the hailstones were relatively small, and it didn't last for long. The scarring occurred on premature apples and they healed over nicely."

As for the pumpkin and winter squash crop, Mr. Graham said, not only are there differences from farm to farm across the county, but in some instances, differences from field to field on the same farm.

He said farmers growing pumpkins and squash on lighter, well-drained fields are in much better shape today than farmers who planted the same crop on heavier soils that retain moisture.

"The wet weather, in some cases, does have a negative impact on vine crops, but considering how wet a summer we've had, I'm not seeing any general crop loss. Like apples, it varies from farm to farm," he said.

Mr. Graham echoed the sentiment expressed by many farmers in the region: that with a drier than normal summer, a farmer can always irrigate, but when there's too much rain, and too little sunshine, there's not much that can be done.

He said the too-few dry periods wreaked havoc with hay farmers this year. While most managed to bale as much hay as they needed, he said, quality may have suffered if it wasn't dried sufficiently.

"I'd be very surprised if anyone gets in a third cutting this year," Mr. Graham said.

"Some farmers, rather than baling hay, simply chopped it and fed it to their livestock right away," he said.

Farmers have had difficulty not damaging fields permanently by using heavy equipment on wet hay fields, making ruts in the mud, Mr. Shepard said.

Scott J. Soares, assistant commissioner of the Department of Agricultural Resources, said while there's no firm data yet, the anecdotal evidence is that the wetter-than-usual summer affected hay production, vegetables that are particularly susceptible to fungus and other diseases during wet periods, and increased hail damage.

"I know a lot of farmers would cut hay and might get a day or two of dry weather, but before it was fully dry and ready to be baled, it would rain again," the assistant commissioner said.

"A first cutting in August is not the norm, but it was a fact for many hay farmers this year," Mr. Soares said.

"If there's an upside to the wet weather, it's that we've seen a good field corn crop this season and that's good news for dairy farmers," he said.

Mr. Soares said he doubts there will be any serious economic impact from the wet summer, because both orchards and vegetable farms have diversified, and while some crops suffered, others thrived.

"If there was an impact on fruit, it was limited to those who were in the path of hailstorms. Those orchards that didn't get hit by hail have fruit of exceptional size and quality this year," he said.

ART: PHOTOS

CUTLINE: (1) David Shepard stands yesterday next to hay produced at his farm. (2) A tractor tows a wagonload of customers yesterday at Breezelands Orchards, as they arrive for "pick your own apples."

PHOTOG: T&G Staff Photos/DAN GOULD