Drought Impacting Pumpkin Crop
Vala's Pumpkin Patch Using Irrigation To Ensure Successful Harvest
Gretna, NE - The burning sun has been tough on a lot of farmers this year.
"If the temperature could go down a bit it would help," said Tim Vala.
Vala, the owner of his own pumpkin patch in Gretna, says the hot weather is now leaving its mark on this year's pumpkin crop nationwide.
"I would imagine there's going to be a shortage of pumpkins this year because of this," said Vala.
Doing everything he can to ensure a successful harvest, Vala is now using one of his lifelines to keep on schedule.
"Irrigating with the drip system helps a lot."
With the aid of his equipment, the drip system puts moisture into the ground for the roots to absorb extending 55-acres through an endless field of green.
"It gets expensive though. I know it's in the tens of thousands to put the irrigation down and the labor costs associated with it."
This season marks the first time in about five years Vala has needed to resort to to irrigating to keep his crop afloat. The labor alone is starting to take a noitceable toll.
"Compared to years when we don't irrigate, we're putting in a lot more effort and it's a lot harder."
Even so, however, Vala is optimistic everything will be okay by the time Autumn rolls around. Though his patch is still a work in progress, he does not expect the drought to have any impact on the size of his harvest.
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