Early-week floods leave Western Mass. crops ‘a total loss’ for some farmers

Jon Galenski’s land in South Deerfield was no exception to the widespread damage torrential rains inflicted on farms across Western Massachusetts earlier this week.

The farm, which butts up against the Connecticut and Deerfield Rivers, lost about 120 acres of sweet corn, cabbage, winter squash, and pumpkins. That damage, Galenski said, accounts for about a fifth or sixth of all the crops he planted with his brother on their operation.

“All the fields are in a lot of low-lying areas, and it just flooded everything out,” Galenski told the Herald by phone on Saturday.

Severe storms inundated at least 75 farms this week and destroyed more than 1,000 acres of crops throughout the state, according to state officials. But the true extent of the pain from the rainfall and floods is still being determined, and long-term crop loss could make the financial impact even worse.

Rainfall totals for the Berkshires and north of Springfield ranged from two inches near Worcester County up to six inches further west, said Bill Leatham, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Norton. Farmers have been left anxiously waiting to see what they can save, if anything, with more rain expected Sunday.

Farmers have reported damage on the scale of a few acres to hundreds, said Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources Commissioners Ashley Randle. It led some in the community to recall Hurricane Irene in August 2011.

“Because of that timing, most of their crops had already been harvested, because that was in August, or at least a good portion of their crops,” Randle told the Herald. “And with this, the July timeframe is just really tricky because you’re right in the middle, getting close to harvest, but many of the farms haven’t reached that point yet.”

Galenski’s fields along the Deerfield River — a tributary to the Connecticut River — were hit hard. Aerial photos shared with the Herald show flooded fields, including some that are almost entirely covered in water.

“When the Connecticut fills up like it did, the Deerfield starts to back up because it’s not allowed to keep dumping into the Connecticut,” he said. “It kind of gets moving so fast going downstream. So what happens is it starts backing up and it backs up into the fields.”

A respite from the rain looks unlikely, forecasters said Saturday. The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for most of Massachusetts, including counties out west, for late Saturday night into Sunday night.

Leatham said weather across the state this week will feature daily chances for showers and thunderstorms. That comes after heavy downpours soaked most of the state, damaging farms and leaving many in New England in dangerous situations.

Sunday could bring “widespread” showers and thunderstorms that could produce some flooding, Leatham said. A National Weather Service advisory said excessive runoff could result in the flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations.

Leatham said Wednesday might be the only day where there is the possibility for “completely dry weather.”

“But most of the days, there’s at least going to be chances for showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon,” he told the Herald Saturday morning. “We’re just still kind of stuck in that same pattern that we’ve been stuck in for a while here.”

Rep. Natalie Blais, a Sunderland Democrat, visited Galenski’s farm Saturday morning with Sen. Jo Comerford, a Northampton Democrat. Some farmers like Galenski may not know the total damage from the earlier rainfalls for some time, Blais said.

“We don’t know what’s coming down the road in terms of mold growth,” Blais told the Herald. “I think we’re in a wait-and-see game in terms of how much the actual financial losses are here.”

Galenski said he has not “come close” to figuring out the total financial damage to his farm.

“Everything’s up in the air,” he said. “There could be more added on to kind of what you’re actually seeing right now.”

The short-term impact is immediate crop loss, Randle said, but long-term, farmers could see the loss of feed crops for livestock like hay and corn, which isn’t harvested until later in the season.

“It is because of mold,” Randle said. “They could harvest it, but then once they test it, the feed quality may not be good and there may be mold that does develop. And some of the farmers just aren’t taking the chance with harvesting it because there is that great chance of mold developing. And then you get into the aspect of mycotoxins, potentially, which are toxic to the animals.”

As for assistance, the U.S. Department of Agriculture could make loan programs available to the farming community if Secretary Tom Vilsack declares a disaster, Randle said.  USDA’s Massachusetts office is working with state officials to collect data in part to determine if a disaster declaration should be made, Randle said.

But Randle said loans may not be helpful to farmers because of the timing of the floods.

“A lot of the farmers were getting ready in the next few weeks to harvest their crop so they’re not able to replant for this year,” she said. “And so a loan would just add additional debt to their bottom line without being able to bring in income for the rest of the year.”