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Farmers Face Challenges at the Farmers Market this Fall Seasonal Challenges for Local Farmer Market Vendors

By Neil-Walker Simmons

THE WASHED FRUIT AND WET SIDEWALKS AT THE FARMERS MARKET IN DOWNTOWN SYRACUSE WERE NOT ONLY REMINISCES THE RAIN LEFT BEHIND. THE FEW FACES IN CLINTON SQUARE. A REMINDER TO LOCAL FARMERS LIKE OTIS VEZZOSE OF THE HARDSHIPS THIS PAST SEASON.

VEZZOSE: IN THE LAST THREE OR FOUR WEEKS, WE HAVE HAD A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF RAIN

THE RAIN IS GREAT FOR CROPS BUT VEZZOS SAYS LIKE THE CUSTOMERS AT THE MARKET TODAY. THERE WAS LITTLE TO NO RAIN THIS PAST SUMMER AND NOW IT’S JUST TOO LATE

VEZZOSE: IT’S PRETTY LATE FOR A LOT OF THINGS, THE TOMATOES, IT CAME TOO LATE FOR THE TOMATOES SO THEY’RE NOT DOING VERY WELL. SOME OF THIS PRODUCE IS GOING TO BE VERY, VERY HARD TO GET THIS WINTER, IT’S GOING TO BE A SHORT SUPPLY OF IT.

THERE ARE SOME FARMERS WHO CAN RELY ON THE RAIN FROM LAKE ONTARIO. LIKE RANDY DARATT. AND FOR HIM THIS IS JUST ANOTHER YEAR.

DARATT: IT’S BEEN GOOD, IT’S BEEN A GOOD SEASON; A LOT OF HEAT WE’RE LOCATED IN NORTHERN CAYUGA COUNTY. WE HAVE HAD PLENTY OF RAIN AND IT HAS WORKED OUT WELL FOR US THIS YEAR

SO WHILE DARATT GETS READY TO CYCLE INTO HIS FALL AND WINTER PRODUCE.

LIKE HIS POPULAR SEASONAL PEPPERS AND WINTER SQUASH

FARMERS LIKE VEZZOSE ARE STRUGGLING TO MEET THE DEMAND OF CUSTOMERs

VEZZOSE: YEAH THE PRICE IS UP AND YOU CAN’T GET A LOT OF THE STUFF THEY WANT, AND YEAH IT AFFECTS THE BOTTOM LINE YOU KNOW, SO.

FARMERS LIKE VEEZOSE ARE HOPING FOR A BETTER TURN OUT NEXT YEAR FROM THE AMOUNT OF PRODUCE TO CUSTOMERS ON RAINY DAYS. Walker Simmons NCC NEWS.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – The washed fruit and wet sidewalks at the farmers market in downtown Syracuse were not the only things the rain left behind this past Tuesday. There were few faces in Clinton Square due to the late rain this fall, which to some is just bad weather but to local farmers it is a reminder of the hardships this past season.

“In the last three or four weeks, we have had a tremendous amount of rain,” said local farmer Otis Vezzose.

Although this summer it was a different story, Vezzose said his crops got little to no rain. The lack of rain this summer is now impacting the amount of produce farmers like Vezzose can put on their tables at the farmers market in the upcoming seasons.

“It’s pretty late for a lot of things, the tomatoes, it came too late for the tomatoes so they’re not doing very well. Some of this produce is going to be very, very hard to get this winter, it’s going to be a short supply of it,” said Vezzose.

Unlike Vezzose there are some farmers who have fields towards the north and closer to the Great Lakes. One farmer specifically can rely on the rain from Lake Ontario, and for him this is just an average year.

“It’s been good, it’s been a good season; a lot of heat we’re located in northern Cayuga county. We have had plenty of rain and it has worked out well for us this year,” said Randy Daratt, owner of Daratt Farms.

For Daratt an average year involves getting ready to cycle into his fall and winter produce, like his popular seasonal peppers and winter squash. Meanwhile a not so pleasant reality has to set in for the farmers like Vezzose who struggle to meet the demand of customers.

“Yeah the price is up and you can’t get a lot of the stuff they want, and yeah it affects the bottom line you know, so,” said Vezzose.

So while Daratt had an average harvest this year and has a table full of fruits and vegetables. On the other side of the farmers market in Clinton Square Vezzose hopes for a better turn out next year from his produce to the amount of customers who come by on rainy days.

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