Farmers contend with hot, dry weather

Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Elna Seabrooks
SWEET AND RIPE — That’s how Mildred Madigan described these tomatoes she purchased from Haynesville farmer Judy Oliver.
By Elna Seabrooks
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — Judy Oliver has a loyal fan base and it’s probably growing. She isn’t a rock star. But, she probably encounters some rocks in her line of work. She’s been a farmer in Haynesville for about 20 years.
    Just about any day between Monday and Friday, once her crops are ready, she is in the parking lot adjacent to McDonald’s where her customers stop by to pick up her latest and greatest hits.
    “We have just about everything,” she said last Wednesday. The litany of vegetables was impressive: potatoes, peas, beans, cucumbers, beets, tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, rutabagas, onions, corn, peppers squash and zucchini. She started to harvest potatoes, beet greens and peas this year on June 25. Squash, she said, will be the last crop.
Good start, hot finish
    Like other farmers, the unsung heroes who keep the country fed, Oliver has had to contend with a tough, dry growing season. “At the beginning of the summer, it was great, But, lately it’s been just too dry — the last month and a half.” When asked how she contended with the arid conditions, she replied: “Pray for rain. We did irrigate cucumbers once. But, it was just too much.”
    Oliver’s produce looked none the worse for wear and she acknowledge that she has been fortunate. “We’ve been blessed really. It’s grown in spite of not having much rain.”
    As friends, neighbors and passersby scooped up a bag of this and a handful of that, Oliver’s daughter-in-law told Mildred Madigan she had put her carrots in the car for her.
    “I bought carrots. Nice fresh carrots. And, I bought some Shepody potatoes. The potatoes here are wonderful. And, they keep. I will have those for the rest of the winter. I buy all my vegetables here. Yesterday, I bought corn and tomatoes. They are ripe and sweet. I have never had a problem with vegetables here,” said Madigan.
Heat cut yields
    It was hot, really hot that day. The SAD 29 superintendent had just ordered what turned out to be the first of three days of early dismissals due to unmatched weather conditions in district schools. Oliver’s son, Joel, and his wife, Lynn, also farmers, had stopped by to have lunch with her.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Elna Seabrooks
NATURE’S BOUNTY — Judy Oliver, center, is known for the fresh vegetables she brings to Houlton from her Haynesville farm. Daughter-in-law Lynn Oliver, left, from Hodgdon is also a farmer. Mildred Madigan, right, said she buys all her fresh vegetables from Judy Oliver.
    “It’s been challenging, especially on the vegetable end of it. The whole month of July and August, it was very dry and things didn’t produce like they normally do. The yields were down,” Joel said about his farm in Hodgdon. “We have 145 acres of potatoes, 160 acres of grain and about 20 acres of mixed vegetables.” He said potatoes planted in early April did very well. Even if yields were down, apparently the rest of his crops, did well judging by the cars that stop at his fresh-vegetable stand on the Calais Rd. Joel Oliver is also a participating farmer in the senior farm share program that helps senior citizens get fresh produce that they might not otherwise be able to afford.
Good news even with weather
    In spite of the weather, there was good news. “We had something of everything this year. Nothing failed. But, it was challenging. We had to irrigate. And, some things were up to two weeks earlier than normal. So, some things are running out sooner because they have run their course and the end of the season is here” he explained.
    His wife Lynn said it had been very hot working in the fields. “The crops have been good despite the lack of rain. But, we really need some rain now because the yields are smaller than normal.” And, as the old adage goes, with every cloud there’s a silver lining. “There’s no problem with blight, whatsoever. That’s the blessing,” said Lynn.
    Judy Oliver said she welcomed the recent change in weather because it brought with it two inches of much needed rain. She said she will be at her regular spot on North St., Mondays-Fridays from 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m. until the end of September.
    When asked about keeping vegetables fresh, she said “keep them refrigerated — but never refrigerate tomatoes.”