Winter drought drains East Tennessee Farms

"This is a cyclic problem," said Dennis Fox, owner of The Fruit and Berry Patch in Halls. "In the mid-1980's, it was very, very dry."

The fruit trees and plants on Fox's farm are important. He sells the produce in a store located at the site.

"We need a lot of water," Fox said.

A pond located on one side of the property plays a major part of his operation in early Spring.

"We put water out when we have a freeze," Fox said. "It will keep the blooms from freezing and protect our crop."

The irrigation system sprays 10 acres of land over a 12-hour period. With the pond currently 5 feet below the normal level, Fox is hoping for big rains before winter's end.

"We wouldn't even start our pump," Dennis Fox said.

It is just one concern for farmers.

"The main concern is water for the animals," said Neal Denton, with UT's Extension Service. "But the other concern we have is that pasture is very short, and usually we try to use pasture as part of the feeding season up until Christmas."

Denton said this year's winter drought could be different from last year's. Right now, the USDA is forecasting normal rainfall.

That will help, but it won't pull us out of a 21-inch deficit that Denton said has stacked up over the past two years.

"We're really hoping for a long period of rain," Denton said. "A couple of good snows would be helpful."

The conditions leave The Fruit and Berry Patch focusing on their current fruit pie sales and apple sales, rather that worrying what is down the road.

"Don't worry about something you can't do anything about," Fox said.

Denton said drought conditions are so bad in some parts of East Tennessee that farmers are now buying their water.