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Niagara County pumpkin crops feel effects of drought

Becker Farms says its pumpkins are a third of the normal size because of the lack of rain.

GASPORT, N.Y. — Melinda Vizcarra has been the owner of Becker Farms for 25 years, but she’s never seen conditions like this with the pumpkin harvest.

“This is probably one of the worst crops that we've had,” Vizcarra said. “We thought we had everything perfect, and they just didn't come up.”

That’s because the pumpkins missed out on rain during a key developmental period, when Niagara County had under an inch of rain during a five-week span from mid-June to mid-July, leaving Becker Farms’ patch to now look a bit sparse. 

“They need water to grow,” said Jim Bittner, Niagara County Farm Bureau board member. “They need water to move the nutrients from the soil into the plant. That’s how they move the nutrients from the soil up into the plant is through water.”

Without those nutrients, the pumpkins were unable to fully develop, causing fewer pumpkins to grow and leaving the ones that do to be about one-third of their normal size.

“It's always frustrating to put all that work into it and not get out what you hoped would happen,” Vizcarra said. 

But the consumer won’t notice these effects because Becker Farms will bring in pumpkins from farms in neighboring counties to meet the demand.

In the meantime, Vizcarra says all she can do is hope for better conditions next year.

“You really don't get a second chance until next year,” she said. 

The pumpkins weren't the only crops at Becker Farms to suffer because of dry conditions this year. 

Last month, Vizcarra reported the apples looked a bit smaller, again because of a lack of rain, and rain is how her apple crops get 100% of its water. 

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