Please Support Farmers through a Time of Blight

Between 1845 and 1852, Ireland experienced a great famine that devastated its population, largely due to a mold known as “late blight,” which caused potato plants to rot and die. Some estimates put the 1845 potato crop failure rate as high as 50%.

If you’re not a farmer or gardener, you may ask why I’m bringing up late blight, but if you are one, then you may know that late blight has been on the attack in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States this summer, killing acres of tomatoes. The blight is believed to have spread to commercial fields from plants bought at garden centers such as Lowes, Home Depot, Wal-Mart and K-Mart by home gardeners, reports the New York Times.

Tomato blight thrives in wet, windy conditions and this year’s torrential rains and cool weather has made for a thriving atmosphere for the blight, which is highly contagious: one plant can produce hundreds of thousands of infected spores. Symptoms include greasy looking grey lesions and white mold on the stems, and greasy brown spots on the fruit. Affecting both tomatoes and potatoes, a UMass Amherst vegetable program advises the blight can kill more plants than any other disease.

Tomato blight causes particular harm to organic farmers who do not use chemical pesticides or herbicides to fight pests and weeds. Amy Hepworth, who grows tomatoes for Whole Foods and the Park Slope Food Co-op, uses an organic-certified copper pesticide that washes away every time it rains. Each spraying costs her $1,000, which indicates that organic farmers will take a big hit this year, as tomatoes are a profitable crop that usually helps to pay off debts accrued throughout the season.

At my local Grand Army Plaza farmers’ market in Brooklyn this past Saturday, one farmer recounted that he went to market one day and his fellow farmers asked him if he had gotten the blight yet. At that moment, he said no, but upon his return to his field, the blight had arrived. Some farmers who participate in community supported agriculture programs worry that their customers will not want to participate next year if they do not have juicy tomatoes this summer due to the blight.

Speaking to the New York Times, John Mishanec of Cornell University predicted that a box of locally grown tomatoes that normally costs $15 to $20may rise to $40. While many consumers will stick with local tomatoes no matter the cost, others will turn away from organic and local to cheaper tomatoes from California or South America.

In this time of blight, it is important to think of the farmers and not give up on them just because they lack tomatoes this year. While we all love those juicy, zingy fruits, supporting local farmers is of the utmost importance and we cannot let them fail due to one year’s blight. So buy some extra zucchini, another head of broccoli and a lovely fennel bulb from your farmers’ market, and hope that next year, tomatoes will make a comeback.