But excessive rain also has drawbacks for farmers, said Richard Jerome, who owns a 200-acre farm in Naples, about 40 miles south of Rochester. The state department of agriculture also reports that both grape and potato crops are vulnerable right now to insects and disease because the plants are in full bloom. I know a lot of other people in the region who are a bit worse off. He was referring to areas between Rochester and Buffalo, which had received up to five inches of rain last week. The storms flooded fields and prevented farmers from going out to spray their crops.
Farmers are unable to safely use their equipment in the wet fields.
Wheat farmers in the region have resorted to using planes to spread their seeds, something not commonly done, said Paula Bailey, a statistician at the agricultural department. Hudson Valley vegetable growers are experiencing similar problems, she added. Onions, the region's most valuable agricultural commodity, were hit hard by windstorms and heavy rains that uprooted just-planted crops. Some growers have put the damage at up to a 50 percent reduction in yield and struggled to replant some of the onions that were lost. That may result in higher prices at the supermarket if onion farmers around the country suffered similar fates.