BETHLEHEM — Throughout summer and fall, March Farms has been hurt with harsh wind and water, leading the farm to endure devastating conditions.

“The flash floods make it hard to keep up with harvesting pumpkins, and other crops,” said family employee Chase Hurley. “We have to stay out till dark trying to beat the rain in hopes we get the yield of our year’s work.”

The flooding and storms also have a heavy effect on the customer-based activities at the farm such as pick your own, hilltop music, and hay rides. On the weekends the farm is looking at thousands of customers a day between the farm store and hilltop, and every day that it rains is a day where profit is lost, and crops dwindle. 

According to Hurley, when the forecast is looking ominous, the farm shuts off apple picking and other hilltop activities and events, lowering customer flow by over half.

Sept. 16 marked the season opening for pick-your-own apples at March Farm, however. Numbers shrank in size compared to the 2022 season opening of apple picking and peach picking. 

“Last year’s weather was far superior to this year’s,” said Wyatt Ives, a former employee at March Farm. “The traffic through the farm was higher last season than this one.” 

During this summer’s historic rainy season, as well as a wet start to fall, over three corn fields flooded and failed to produce sweet corn. Luckily the fields that were damaged had been added this season and were more like trials, serving an experimental purpose for next year’s growing season.  

Planting row crops on an orchard is not an easy task as it’s a process of trial and error.  

2023 proved to be a busy year on the farm even while Mother Nature barraged the property with rain, wind, and cool temperatures. 

“The farm looks fantastic [despite the heavy rain],” said one customer. “[March Farm] is still the spotlight of the fall season for my family.”