Getting Answers: Hadley farm comes up with techniques to help crops amid rainy weather

HADLEY, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - We have been following the impact of the rain on farms here in western Massachusetts quite closely and now with another wet Monday.

“This one week in September we had over three inches of rain which is like three quarters of the average September precipitation so it has been a series of extreme events,” said Dan Pratt.

With yet another rainy day here in western Massachusetts on Monday, we checked in with Astarte Farm in Hadley to see how they’re doing.

“We have really been incredibly lucky,” said Pratt.

Former owner and current consultant of Astarte Farm in Hadley, Dan Pratt, told Western Mass News unlike many farms across the area they have experienced no flooding this season, he credits their luck to a technique called no till farming which he compares to a field full of sponges.

“It will soak it up when it’s too wet and it will give it up to the plants when its properly dry,” added Pratt. “It actually allows this rain to penetrate deeper into the earth and instead of forming puddles and muddles on our farm we have earthworm channels and bug holes and all sorts of lovely stuff that makes the soil extremely absorbent.”

Although Astarte Farm has not experienced any flooding, they have come across their own share of challenges when working around the raindrops.

Pratt said no till farming allows them to harvest crops during the rain, the wet weather makes it quite a bit harder to do their everyday tasks, and some of their crops like tomatoes cannot be touched while wet.

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“The tomatoes have been wet a long, long time this summer,” noted Pratt.

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