Farming a Risky, Quirky Business When Weather Involved

If Kurt Alstede had his way, every summer would be like this one.

"If we were able to choose, we'd always choose hot and dry," said Kurt Alstede, founder and general manager of Alstede Farms in Chester. "Cold and wet is always a disaster."

While hot and dry weather may not seem conducive for a healthy harvest, Alstede Farms, one of the weekly produce vendors at the Madison Farmers Market, has had a bountiful crop this year. And while Morris County has been under a drought advisory until this week, Alstede said he's skeptical when it comes to water warnings.

"I think there's a big difference between a drought advisory and actually having a drought," he said. "I find that the [Department of Environmental Protection] tends to throw out the word drought prematurely. What's prompted the drought advisories in Northern New Jersey is not the amount of rainfall we've been getting this summer, but the height of certain reservoirs. Sure, it's been a little on the dry side, but by no means has there been a drought this summer."

In order to keep crops hydrated, Alstede Farms is equipped with three miles of underground water mains, which direct water to a chain of hydrants on the farm. By tapping into the hydrants, Alstede said he can insure that water reaches crops quickly and effectively.

"We spend a tremendous amount of time, effort and money on irrigating, but it produces high quality crops and it produces an item that it desirable to consumers," he said.

Raised soil beds help to prevent severe moisture with certain crops, but Alstede said it's easier to deal with dry weather.

"We'd much rather add water because you can't take water away," he said. "And not only is the weather fickle with our growing, the weather is fickle with our selling. If we lose a weekend to rain, nobody's interested in coming to pick-your-own in the rain. So we have crops sitting on the trees and in the fields that didn't get harvested that could be getting over-mature or getting damaged by being out there too long,"

Alstede also said that as a farmer, you need to accept limits when it comes to the weather.

"You have to be at peace with the fact that you know you're not in control," he said. "Because you can do a lot of things correctly and still have some sort of weather event occur that can have a severe impact on the results of your crops. We've had hailstorms, we've had disastrous fall seasons where it rains every weekend and people haven't come out to pick fruit, and we've had crops destroyed by too much moisture, but things always work out. So we do as much as we can to control and then the rest you just through faith go forward and pray for a successful season."

Although Alstede prefers sunny weather, he admitted there is a time when he wishes for rain.

"If we had our way, we'd love to see an inch to an inch and a quarter of rain every Sunday evening starting at 8 p.m., clearing out by 6 a.m. so we're ready for a nice week of sunny, dry and low humidity weather."

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