Chatsworth, New Jersey — On the age of 78, Stephen Lee III is going through an unsure future.
Six generations of his household have farmed 135 acres of cranberry bogs in South Jersey.
“In farming, you do not know what’s subsequent,” Lee mentioned.
Within the final 4 months, it has solely rained about three inches on the Lee Brothers Cranberry Farm — a few foot lower than regular. Earlier this month, New Jersey declared a drought warning amid dry circumstances that contributed to the unfold of a number of wildfires within the state.
“The Nationwide Climate Service says this excessive drought on this a part of South Jersey is a 150-year occasion,” Lee mentioned.
And earlier than temperatures dip to single digits, the cranberry bogs should be flooded to maintain the delicate buds from drying out.
Usually, waterways feed into the Lees’ reservoir. However now it is a surreal panorama, cracked and bone dry.
“It is surprising,” Lee’s daughter Jennifer mentioned. “And all you are able to do is sort of stare out and have a look at it.”
Jennifer says they turned to a backup nicely to pump water for his or her current harvest. However even that nicely is 20 toes decrease than regular.
“We’re fortunate,” Jennifer defined. “There are some growers who haven’t got a nicely and…they weren’t profitable this 12 months.”
Nonetheless, pumping the bogs with nicely water will price practically $30,000 in gasoline this season.
And close to the farm, a wildfire that began in July remains to be smoldering, fueled by the drought. It is a risk that can hold Lee away from a Thanksgiving custom of gathering with household in Maine.
“I will keep right here and scent for smoke and take a look at to determine if the cranberries are protected,” Lee mentioned.
It is the worth of guarding subsequent 12 months’s crop and his household’s heritage.
