Vermont saw a wetter and cooler than average spring this year, and while many businesses that rely on summer weather bemoaned the rain, strawberry growers in the state welcomed it. Strawberries need about an inch of rain a week, and don't require a tremendous amount of sunny weather, according to Eugenie Doyle of Last Resort Farm in Bristol.
A good, cold winter to kill pests followed by just the right amount of rain means her family's organic farm is seeing very little mold and powdery mildew, making for the best strawberry crop in several years.
"I think all the growers in the state are pretty happy with this season, and there are going to be a lot of happy people," Doyle said.
Richard Hourihan of Cabot Smith Farm grows about eight acres of strawberries at 1,500 feet. He says the rain was no problem at his Cabot farm. "They're growing fine," he said in mid-June. "They're a little behind because of the weather. You know, the heat's not there, but they're coming along."
Hourihan has noticed in recent years early season wildfire smoke has blocked sunlight and thermal energy from reaching the soil, which delays his crops. But this year, he says, things are looking promising, and it's just one of many wild cards Vermont farmers are learning to deal with as the climate changes.
Read more at Vermont Public