Irene Is Trouble For Local Farmers

It’s been a tough year, says Pete Bargmann, owner of Alice Acres and Cows and Cones in Gales Ferry.

There were the unrelenting rains of May that damaged crops, and now a tropical storm with high winds that knocked over the tomato plants, followed by a power outage that requires the expense of running a  generator to keep his ice cream from melting.

“I hope I don’t lose my business,” he said. “It’s that close.”

In 2008, Bargmann almost left the farm to return to his previous job as an Alaska fisherman. The community stepped in with a series of fundraisers to help him keep his business running.

Now, storm costs have put Alice Acres back in jeopardy.

Before the storm, Bargmann took time to secure his greenhouses. He rented a generator from Arrow Paper for $1,000 a week. He said he is burning about $100 worth of fuel daily.

The failure to restore power has been a source of ongoing frustration for him. Though he admits he doesn’t know everything about power restoration, he thinks that there are two fuses that need to go back together on his street in order to get electricity back.

“I don’t know why they don’t come down and hook that up.”

Meanwhile, wind and water from Irene did a number on his tomatoes. Wind gusts toppled the plants, while too much water lead to blighted leaves, a problem Bargmannn is vulnerable to because he no longer sprays.

He has been seeing fewer customers since the hurricane, perhaps because of people assumed his business was closed or else were too busy dealing with hurricane matters around their own homes.

Aiki Farms without power

Bob Burns of Aiki Farms has his own frustrations with the electric company. Three years ago he invested $30,000 in solar panels, only to discover that they need some power off the grid in order to function.

“It’s hard for me to take,” said Burn’s, reflecting his frustration.

Though his farm survived the storm largely intact, the loss of electric fans to circulate air caused mold to destroy some produce that he was storing indoors.

Wednesday’s Farmer’s Market in Ledyard Center had been a mixed success, Burns said. All the farmers were there, but he estimated that there were about a quarter of the usual number of customers.

Amanda Levine of Town Farm said they have been pulling five-gallon buckets of water from a centuries-old artesian well on the property.

"It's quite a sight -- we're playing 'Colonial times,'" Levine said.

Holmberg Orchards doing OK

At Holmberg Orchards, there were a few customers out this week looking to pick the peaches, pears, apples and nectarines—all of which were relatively unharmed by the winds.

“We got rattled, but the crop damage was minimal,” said Rick Holmberg. “There’s a big difference between 63 and 83 mile an hour winds.”

The worst damage that the orchard sustained was to their raspberries, which Holmberg called a total loss.

The loss of power also forced him to use a generator. He doesn’t have enough power to support his refrigerators, but he keeps the freezers on so that he doesn’t lose his ice cream or his baking materials.

As of Thursday, Holmberg was unable to take phone calls or complete credit card transactions. Like Cows and Cones, he has been seeing fewer customers.

Although he’d like to see services restored soon, Holmberg said he thought the restoration was going as fast as it could. “I’m fully confident that they’re doing their best,” he said.

According to Henry Tallmadge, the executive director of the Connecticut Farm Bureau, farm damage was widespread throughout the state. Some of the worst hit have been dairy farms, which need electricity in order to refrigerate milk.

While flood damage has been most problematic in the western part of the state and Connecticut River Valley, in eastern towns, most of the destruction was wind related.

Storm gusts have knocked down 20 percent of the corn in the state and as much as 50 percent of the sweet corn stalks. Some of these fallen stalks could be recoverable, some not.

Generally orchards held onto their fruit.

“For the most part, people are saying it could have been much worse,” Tallmadge said.