Chatsworth, New Jersey — At 78, Stephen Lee III faces an uncertain future.
Six generations of his family have farmed 135 acres of cranberry bogs in South Jersey.
“In agriculture, you don’t know what’s next,” Lee said.
Over the past four months, it has only rained about three inches at Lee Brothers Cranberry Farm, about a foot less than normal. Earlier this month, New Jersey declared a drought warning in a context of drought which contributed to the spread of several forest fires in the state.
“The National Weather Service says this extreme drought in this part of South Jersey is a 150-year event,” Lee said.
And before temperatures drop into the single digits, cranberry bogs will need to be flooded to keep the fragile buds from drying out.
Generally, the rivers feed the Lees Reservoir. But now it’s a surreal landscape, cracked and dry.
“It’s shocking,” said Lee’s daughter Jennifer. “And all you can do is watch and watch.”
Jennifer says they turned to a relief well to pump water for their recent harvest. But even this well is 20 feet lower than normal.
“We’re lucky,” Jennifer explained. “There are producers who don’t have wells and… they weren’t successful this year.”
Still, pumping peatlands with well water will cost nearly $30,000 in fuel this season.
And near the farm, a forest fire that started in July is still on fire, fueled by drought. It’s a threat that will push Lee away from the Thanksgiving tradition of gathering with family in Maine.
“I’m going to stand here and smell the smoke and try to determine if the cranberries are protected,” Lee said.
It’s the price she has to pay to protect next year’s harvest and her family’s legacy.
Elaine Quijano
