‘IT’S APPROACHING A LOSING VENTURE’

Fierce storms wrecked crops a year after farmers struggled with drought

FARMINGTON — A wet summer that brought several tropical storms and a barrage of torrential rain to Connecticut has hit farms hard, ruining fall crops and dealing a blow to the state’s $4 billion-a-year agriculture sector.

Ida and Henri flooded about 25 acres of Rodger Phillips’ 300-acre Sub Edge Farm, leaving some places submerged 7 feet, killing turkeys and destroying kale, winter squash, pumpkins and other vegetables.

Adding insult to injury, another recent downpour again swamped fields on Phillips’ farm. The bucolic expanse of open land just minutes from Interstate 84 straddles Avon and Farmington and sits between Thompson Brook and the Farmington River, both of which overflowed.

“Fields were completely under water,” Phillips said.

William Dellacamera, who farms more than 100 acres in Branford, said he’s spent hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years for irrigation.

“I’d rather it were dry and I pump water than sit here and watch it rain,” he said. “It takes the wind out of you.”

Talking to other farmers, Dellacamera said bottom-line losses of 30% to 60% are expected.

The state Department of Agriculture has not received detailed farm losses, Commissioner Bryan P. Hurlburt said. The cumulative statewide impact of Henri on Aug. 22 and Ida on Sept. 1 and 2 was significant he said. They followed Tropical Storm Elsa in July.

The extremely wet weather pattern has been a reversal from May and June that were dry and approaching drought status, Hurlburt said.

“Since July it’s been an inundation,” he said.

Joan Nichols, executive director of the Connecticut Farm Bureau, said farms in low-lying areas along rivers had extensive damage, with some reporting “catastrophic losses” among pumpkins and squash.

In contrast, she said fruit crops such as orchards and vineyards are doing well.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved a request from Gov. Ned Lamont for an agriculture disaster declaration as a

result of damage caused by Elsa. Farmers in Connecticut are eligible for disaster assistance to cover production losses from the storm, such as emergency loans.

The disaster declaration triggers emergency loans that add to other Department of Agriculture assistance programs. The agency is still assessing damages from Henri and Ida, a spokeswoman said.

Disaster aid doesn’t replace farmers’ income from saleable crops, instead helping to cut some of the losses, Nichols said.

Phillips said his losses came to $100,000 and on a gofundme account he sought $40,000 to cover operations. “People came through. We got it in a day,” he said.

Three restaurants that work with Sub Edge Farm are helping with fundraisers scheduled for Oct. 2.

Phillips, who with his wife Isabelle managed farms for 18 years, also raises poultry and grass-fed beef in addition to organic vegetables and herbs at Sub Edge Farm.

The hurricanes and downpours contrast vividly with last year’s drought. By late September 2020, the Hartford area was down 11 inches of rain from the average, posting just 22 inches since Jan. 1, according to the National Weather Service.

In Hartford this year, rainfall totals doubled to 44 inches since Jan. 1, according to the National Weather Service.

The weather extremes inevitably lead to questions about climate change.

“In the last 10 years I’ve witnessed climate extremes,” Phillips said. “We’re living it.”

He said he’s rethinking when to plant in the future and identifying danger areas. And he’s dredging ponds to make room for more volume.

Dellacamera has planted crops in rows in different directions to reduce problems related to excess water, he said. The new strategy worked, reducing the impact of flooding. He raises corn, pepper, eggplant, squash and other vegetables at his farm, called Cecarelli Farms.

Yields have been down due to the saturated ground and wind, too, killed crops. “The plants get beat up,” becoming scarred and infected, he said.

“Because it depends on the weather, farming has always been risky. But it’s approaching a losing venture,” Dellacamera said.

“It’s the chance we take. It’s a gamble. I could have gone to the casinos and lost it all at once. This way I extended it.”

MARK MIRKO PHOTOS/HARTFORD COURANT Rodger Phillips of Sub Edge Farm in Farmington stands in a squash field that was under 6 feet of water after remnants of Hurricane Ida swept across the region. Phillips says 25 acres were flooded, resulting in the loss of more than $100,000 in produce and turkeys.

Squash rots on the vine at Sub Edge Farm, which sits between Thompson Brook and the Farmington River, both of which overflowed in another recent downpour.

MARK MIRKO/HARTFORD COURANT Just last October, dairy farmer Brandon Smith had been trucking in water for his cows at Cushman Farm in Franklin after his wells ran dry during a severe drought. Less than a year later, Connecticut farmers are dealing with too much rain.