SOMERSET COUNTY, MD -- While many farmers across Delmarva have the resources to weather the drought, some small farmers aren't as fortunate.
Floyd Pugh of C.P. Farm in Westover, Md., says he does not have a working irrigation system, which is why a fourth of his planted seeds did not germinate.
"We got a well drilled in," says Pugh. "The well was pretty expensive to put in here, but the electric company wants $10,000 to run electric from the highway back to our well, and that's a little too far out for me to reach."
Most of Pugh's crops grew without moisture. Those will go to the Maryland Food Bank. But, he says it's a shame anytime seeds go to waste.
"We're harvesting, and we could harvest double the amount, but we can't do it yet," says Pugh.
Also in Somerset County, farmer John Roduik of Poppa Said Maybe Farm says his traditional crops, like squash, bore the brunt of the drought. He says his drip lines have been a lifesaver.
"Without it, our crop production would have been way down," says Roduik. "Even with the tropical crops, they still need to get water. So, having water out to them for an hour a day was plenty."
Still, Roduik used irrigation twice what is needed when there is no drought.
"It is more of a financial cost electricity-wise," says Roduik. "Then repairing it, it was more time repairing drip tape as it gets more use to it, the pressure puts more holes in the land, and of course, electricity from the pump."
