Drought in New Hampshire affecting local farmers in different ways
Most of the state remains in moderate drought, with parts of southeastern New Hampshire experiencing severe drought conditions.
Taking a walk around Donaghey Christmas Tree Farm in Pembroke, there are visible signs of drought just about everywhere you look.
But their thousands of loyal customers won’t see any difference in products when the holidays roll around.
"We’ve been pretty lucky with the impact of the drought on the older trees. They've been able to sustain the weather conditions this year,” said Gary Seidner, farmer at Donaghey Christmas Tree Farm.
The issue is with the younger trees. The dry conditions and lack of water supply don't give them much of a chance to put down their roots.
Seidner estimates he's lost about 25% of the new trees he's planted this year– something that may come back to haunt him.
“The trees you lose from a year ago or this year may impact down the road 5-6 years,” Seidner said. "When we plant a tree in the ground it takes about 6-7 years to be harvested."
Up the road at Carter Hill Orchard in Concord, farmer Todd Larocque said his crops are looking good, but could use a little rain. He said he's not able to water his trees as frequently as usual due to the dry conditions.
But for certain crops like apples, that doesn’t make too much of a difference. The only thing that customers will notice in the fall is that they are a little bit smaller.
“Those apples might be a little smaller, but there’s still time to get a little bit more rain and hopefully they'll get a little more size,” Larocque said.
Larocque said his apple trees are very resilient and the apples still taste the same.
He doesn't anticipate his customers will notice a difference when they show up in droves this fall.
"Not particularly. I think they are more out for the experience – picking apples with the kids and stuff,” Larocque said. “If the apples are a little smaller, they get a few more in their bag and they are still happy no matter what."
Regardless, all farmers are hoping mother nature will bring rain soon to replenish their water supply.