Farmers in Hampshire County, Massachusetts are now preparing for another round of winter weather with sleet and freezing rain expected. Many hope this will be the season’s last storm as farmers are in desperate need of a break.
William Lynch of Easthampton, who used to work on local farms, told 22News, “I am nervous and concerned about the buds coming out too early and then being killed by a cold front. I’m hoping we don’t experience the same traumatic experiences of last year. We lost everything from pears to peaches.”
Currently, local fruit trees across western Massachusetts only have silver tips, an early budding stage which are able to withstand snow, sleet and rain. What will not affect the orchards will affect the fields. With snow and ice on the way, farmers like Brad Morse of Outlook Farms in Westhampton have to delay planting vegetables until the end of the month.
“You have to hold your crops out for another week or two before you can get them in the ground,” said Morse, “which means they’re harder to transplant.”
source: wwlp.com