Despite getting rain Friday night and then again on Tuesday morning, the state is still in a major rainfall deficit and the lack of rain is impacting farmers.
"It's still dry even though we got some sufficient rain,” James Futtner, of Futtner’s Family Farm, said. “It will probably last us for about a week and this time of the year you need about an inch, inch and a half of rain depending on your soil types."
Despite the lack of rainfall, Futtner’s nearly eight-acres farm still looks great thanks to a drip irrigation system that supplies a constant supply of water when needed.
"I don't have a huge water supply. I got to work off basically a water faucet on eight acres of land, so it's drip irrigation 24/7," Futtner said. That adds up very quickly.
"We get a huge $1,000 to $2,000 water bill every quarter in the summertime. In the winter, it's nothing but this time of the year, it comes off the top," Futtner added.
Despite the increased cost to produce the fresh crops, prices will remain the same and East Hartford resident Maryanne Lamprechet is very thankful for that.
"I always wait for them to get their vegetables. I can't wait for their stand to open in the spring time,” Lamprechet said. "It's fresh. That's the main thing and the prices are better and it's native. You know, support local farmers."
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The rainfall deficit for 2016 is right around 6 inches, but if you look back to January 2015, Connecticut is 12.97 inches in the hole.
"We're OK for now,” Futtner said. “But the deficit is pretty big and down deep, there is no water. It's all surface water and in a few days, 90/95 degrees it's going to be gone."
