Disaster areas declared after N.J. drought

It was the worst drought Bill Nardelli's family had seen in more than 100 years operating its large vegetable farm in Cedarville, Cumberland County.

So it was welcome news Tuesday when the U.S. Department of Agriculture designated 16 New Jersey counties natural disaster areas to assist farmers plagued by excessive heat and lack of rain during the 2010 growing season.

"It was the toughest summer ever," said Nardelli, the fifth generation of his family to raise tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, beans, and other crops on several hundred acres in the fertile heart of the South Jersey farm belt.

The disaster declaration covers June 1 through Sept. 30. Farmers in the affected area - which also includes Camden, Burlington, Gloucester, Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, and Ocean Counties - will have access to emergency loans that could cover up to 100 percent of their agricultural losses during the period, said Paul Hlubik, executive director of the USDA's Farm Service Agency in New Jersey.

Particularly challenging for growers, Nardelli said, was irrigating crops continually, from germination through harvest - a practice that can produce weak plants with fewer blossoms that will mature into produce.

Blossoms dropped off pepper plants, and heads of lettuce, escarole, and endive were smaller and less firm than normal, said Nardelli, whose family business operates as Lakeview Farms and Nardelli Brothers Inc.

"Our farmers faced many challenges during this growing season, and we all admire their perseverance and true grit they displayed," said Douglas H. Fisher, the state secretary of agriculture.

Tuesday's declaration also allows farmers to receive direct relief through the Supplemental Revenue disaster-assistance program, Hlubik said.

Applicants have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for assistance.

To quality, they must have suffered a 30 percent loss in crop production or a physical loss to inventory, livestock, or property.