The wet summer has left Volante Farms in Needham at the mercy of Mother Nature

NEEDHAM – Teri Volante Boardman watches this year’s basil harvest at Volante Farm in Needham and hopes for drier days ahead.

“All the runoff water that wasn’t caught by the catch basin washed it out into the field and made this huge puddle in the middle of the field,” Boardman said.

Boardman says the continued heavy thunderstorms in the summer have put a strain on many farms across the region. “It’s been a very challenging year – very unpredictable – and…some days you think you just get a little bit of rain and then you get hit with a flood,” she said.

Two of the fields were flooded this summer, affecting the lettuce and basil crops. “This is where we actually lost our entire basil crop, some of our field flowers, some lettuce and some other things that were growing next to it. Fortunately, we are a diversified business, so we don’t just rely on these crops to sustain us,” she said.

Volante Farms is a multipurpose farm where they grow their own produce and some fruits. They also have their own greenhouse and food market that is always bustling with customers. The fourth-generation family business has been around for over 100 years.

“We’ve been through worse. We’re a pretty tough bunch so we’ll get through it,” she said. “Our hearts break for people in western Mass and Vermont who have literally lost everything,” she said. Last year, farms faced a lack of rain. This year, farms are being flooded with too much rain.

“Everything is so wet it’s hard to get on the ground to plant new things, so there’s going to be a few gaps in the produce we normally have available,” she said.

Boardman says farms are at the mercy of Mother Nature, which has a big impact on their business. “Hopefully we’ll have a nice, dry end to the season, and we’ll recover, and it’ll be all right,” she said.