FARMERS ACROSS SOUTHERN MARYLAND are struggling to keep their crops both alive and consumable this summer.  Charles, St. Mary's and lower Calvert Counties have been hardest hit by this summer’s drought, according to Governor Martin O’Malley in his speech at La Plata’s town hall Thursday.  The Governor's reports estimate a statewide loss of 30% to 60% of this year’s crops. 

Earlier that Thursday morning, St. Mary’s County Commissioner Thomas A. Mattingly, Sr. (District 2) told Governor O’Malley that St. Mary’s County reports indicate 50% - 70% of their field crops would be unusable come harvest. 

The Bowlings and some of their produce.  Photos by Tara Dailey for TheBayNet.com

Russell Burch's produce stand in Waldorf. Photo by Heather Bartlett for TheBayNet.com.

At Saturday’s La Plata farmers’ market, local produce farmers Howard and Dawn Bowling of Faulkner told The Bay Net that they had to irrigate to keep their produce alive this year.  Thanks to the irrigation, the Bowlings have fruits and vegetables which are full-size, ripe and edible, but not all of it.  

According to Dawn, their peach trees should produce fruit until September, but she doesn't think her crop will grow much more.  Only one third of their current peach crop is properly developed. While produce crops are suffering under the drought, Dawn and fellow farmer Russell Burch of Waldorf both say it’s field crops like hay, soybeans and corn which are particularly hard hit.

Irrigation has been the answer for both Bowlings and Burch.  But unlike their mid-western counterparts, most of our area farmers are not equipped with field irrigation machinery.  The Bowlings aren't.  They rigged drip-line irrigation systems into their small produce fields.  According to Dawn, the low pressure delivery of that method allows them to conserve water while they save their crops from scorching.  Hay, soybeans and corn, however, grow in much bigger fields where such methods can't accommodate the larger scale.

Dawn explained the difficulties her neighbors and fellow growers are having this season.  Local livestock owners dread the thought of how expensive it will be to feed their animals through this winter.  Several of her neighbors have had to dig deeper household wells because the water table has fallen so severely.  Burch has limited his plants this season.

"A lot of what I normally put in the ground I can't because it's so dry," Burch told The Bay Net. 

Area wildlife are also suffering with a lack of food.  Local drivers don’t usually begin to see significant quantities of deer until mid to late autumn.  Deer usually spend the summer grazing in local woodlands.  This year, however, our wildlife have bravely entered the human realm in search of food much months earlier than they usually do. 

Deer charge across back roads and help themselves to fields much closer to humans than the animals would normally care to roam.  Canada geese can’t find enough food in our half empty storm management ponds, so they waddle repeatedly across busy roads like Smallwood Drive by the Waldorf shopping mall in search of food in the parking lots.

The Governor also announced free testing available to every area farmer who wants to know the quality of their harvest.  The Maryland Department of Agriculture tests grain for aflatoxins and other toxins poisonous to livestock, which can be present under drought conditions.  Like Burch, most growers already know their crops are rubbish. 

"Some people kept asking [for] yellow corn, so I planted a field of yellow corn. I said what'd I'll do is I'll irrigate the tomatoes and then I can run the hose over to the field and sprinkle that. Well, that didn't happen. Didn't get to it, because I [had] to put all the water I could on the tomatoes because that's what I sell the most of.  That whole field of corn is bad," said Burch. 

Also on Thursday, Governor Martin O’Malley formally requested that the United States Department of Agriculture grant a Secretarial Disaster Designation, "for all Maryland counties impacted by the severe dry weather and excessive heat during the months of June and July."  

“By requesting this disaster designation, we hope to provide some relief to our local farmers, who are a vital part of Maryland’s economy, and we will continue to work with the Maryland Department of Agriculture and our federal delegation to help our farmers get through this drought,” said Governor O’Malley.

“Maryland’s farmers are having trouble paying their bills due to the drought,” said Roger Richardson, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Agriculture. “We are working closely with both the federal government and local jurisdictions to ensure that Maryland’s farmers are protected during this arid growing season.”

But Burch doesn't seem very impressed with federal farm aid.  “People are under the impression that the federal money is "free money" for the farmers,” said Burch. “[But] unless something big changed then it's simply an easy-to- acquire loan with low or no interest.”

According to the Maryland Department of Agriculture, since spring 2007, all of Maryland has received rainfall amounts that are well below average.  Most of the shortfall has been in the last three months, which happens to be the most critical development time for most field crops. 

Charles County Editor, Anna Dailey welcomes your comments on all Charles County issues.
Please leave feedback in the box below or contact her via email:  annadailey@thebaynet.com.