CONWAY — After a frantic emergency response to save animals and equipment on July 10, 2023, David Fisher and Maggie Toran assessed their farm field as memories of Hurricane Irene came flooding back.

At their horse-powered, community-supported agriculture (CSA) farm on Shelburne Falls Road in Conway that evening, Fisher and Toran saw a year’s worth of Natural Roots’ crops washed away by the South River, the same river that supports their livelihood.

“It wasn’t clear immediately what the implications were after the first flood; we weren’t sure if anything was salvageable or not,” Fisher said. In the hours and days after the storm — as well as two subsequent storms in July — it was obvious 2023 was going to be anything but a normal farming year, as Toran said they quickly pivoted to clean-up and fundraising mode. “It was pretty quickly clear that we were one of many farms that had been really impacted.”

Now, a year on from the flooding that threatened their livelihood on July 10, 16 and 21 of last year, Fisher, Toran and numerous other farms around the Pioneer Valley are settling into their regular farming season.

“I’m grateful to be having a good-looking season,” Fisher said in Natural Roots’ field Tuesday afternoon, as he, Toran and the rest of the crew were picking carrots. “This is what we’re used to, and it’s nice to touch back into that rhythm.”

In Hatfield, Bernie Smiarowski, who co-owns Teddy C. Smiarowski Farm with Ron, John and Jim Smiarowski, said 2024 is looking to be a productive year. He said the family farm lost about 200 of their 640 acres of potato crop last year due to flooding and those that survived to be harvested were not as good as they usually are, due to the constant deluges.

“Everything actually looks pretty good,” Bernie said Tuesday, although the high temperatures are not exactly ideal potato weather. He is, though, looking for a little bit of rain, otherwise they’ll have to start irrigation — but, he joked, not too much. “You’ve got to watch what you wish for.”

Massachusetts Department of Agriculture Commissioner Ashley Randle, a South Deerfield native who still makes time to work on the family farm, said last year was one of the most difficult for Pioneer Valley farms, as frost killed peaches and other fruits long before the flooding wiped out other crops.

“The flooding that hit on July 10, it was, in my lifetime, one of the most devastating events to occur and to hit the Massachusetts agricultural sector, as well as our neighbors in Vermont and Connecticut,” Randle said. “It really brought to light how fragile our local food system is and the impacts of climate change … this year, we feel very fortunate hearing from farmers that they’ve been having a good season.”

Responses big and small

As farmers picked up the pieces, the community, regional nonprofits and the state kicked into gear to support those who suffered catastrophic crop losses.

The first form of aid came from the Farm Resiliency Fund, a partnership between the state, philanthropic organizations and private foundations that raised millions of dollars. This money was then distributed to farms in the form of grants. The United Way of Central Massachusetts served as the leading organization of the fund.

The Farm Resiliency Fund was then followed up by $20 million in December from the Natural Disaster Recovery Program for Agriculture, with money distributed throughout Massachusetts.

State Rep. Natalie Blais, D-Deerfield, said the orchestration of the funding was a tall task on short notice, but money was out the door within weeks.

“When I stood with Gov. Healey and Lt. Gov. Driscoll in a farm field in Deerfield and she told us they would have a private fund set up by the end of the week, I was skeptical, I’ll be honest with you, but she did it,” Blais said. “I have been a strong believer that as elected officials, we need to be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars and I have to say, the return on investment on these state dollars was strong.”

While flooding is nothing new for farmers, Bernie, who said his farm suffered about $1 million in losses, said the state support they received last year was unlike the response to any other flooding they’ve experienced.

“We haven’t seen anything like that in the past,” he said. “There was flooding in 2011 with Hurricane Irene that was substantial … We lost a lot back then and we didn’t get the support that we did last year.”

All of this money, Blais said, created a “ripple effect” in the local economy as it allowed people to keep their jobs and ensured local food continued to “circulate throughout the food system.” Other businesses in different industries benefited, too, as she noted the survival of farms means they would be purchasing equipment and other materials for the new season.

“In the face of unprecedented natural disasters, our farmers remained resilient,” Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement. “We were proud to deliver relief at such a dire time, and today we are so glad to celebrate the start of a successful harvest. I’m grateful to our partners in the Legislature and the United Way for joining forces to support our agricultural community.”

For smaller operations like Natural Roots, community efforts also helped keep the doors open. With profits lost due to flooding and the needed riverbank stabilization work, the community raised more than $91,000 to keep the farm alive.

Then, as CSA pickup season approached, farms from around the Valley and the region sent their extra produce to Natural Roots to help Fisher and Toran fill out CSA orders, which saved them from having to refund customers.

“The magnitude of destruction and sheer devastation that came with the flood was kind of countered by the magnitude of generosity and support that we felt,” Fisher said. “In the end we were OK, just very different, obviously, from what we anticipated or planned for.”

The entire network of support for these farms, from GoFundMe campaigns to legislative actions is the essence of Massachusetts agriculture, said Randle.

“The sense of community is really strong and really special in Massachusetts,” Randle said, adding the CSA donations “points to the collaborative nature of our farms.” “I think that sense of community is what will help us in the future as well, should we be hit with another disaster or misfortune in the farming community.”

Climate resiliency

As a more normal farm season continues, the work is far from finished.

“We’re seeing shorter springs, more mild winters … I think we’re really mindful of that,” Randle said, highlighting grant programs and technical assistance for farmers, as well as working with agencies like the UMass Extension to develop more tolerant crops.

“Many of our farms are multi-generational and the next generation may be interested in taking over the farm, but it’s different than it was even 20 years ago,” she said. “Being prepared to take on those challenges is something that is helpful to us when we hear directly from farmers about what their concerns are, how we can provide grant programs or technical assistance to support them, and how we move forward in a changing climate.”

For farmers, climate resiliency measures are part of the solution, but those are costly projects and while MDAR does offer several grant programs, it isn’t guaranteed funding. There’s also the fact that it’s sometimes not feasible for farms to take on these projects due to their locations. Natural Roots abuts the South River, while Teddy C. Smiarowski Farm abuts the Connecticut River, which supports the growth of food at both farms, but also puts them right in the natural floodplain.

“There’s really not much we can do,” Bernie said. “It’s a big gamble; that’s why we look for the support because it’s such a gamble and our livelihoods are at stake here.”

The other challenge, Toran said, is they can’t just look at one year’s experience and make drastic changes, because climate change is unpredictable.

“We have to look at this experience over a number of years … we don’t know how climate change is going to shift and change,” Toran said. “We just have to have that long view and take it one year at a time … We’re very much carrying the awareness of the time we live in and looking at the farm with a long-term perspective.”

On the Legislature’s end, Blais and Sen. Jo Comerford introduced bills to establish a state disaster relief fund, which would be administered by the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and support municipalities facing natural or human-made disasters. The bills were sponsored by the Joint Committee on Emergency Preparedness and Management and referred to the Senate Ways and Means Committee in April.

“We’ve seen this happen one year later in Vermont and we were lucky to not experience the same damage,” Blais said, referring to the remnants of Hurricane Beryl, which caused severe flooding in areas still reeling from 2023 flooding.

“We’ve seen the return on investment that these state dollars have provided, not only for our farms, but for our communities who would not be able to afford the infrastructure repairs they were faced with.”

Each person interviewed for this story referenced those floods from last week, as they all emphasized how fortunate the Pioneer Valley was to dodge this round of damage and, at least for Blais, it’s a sign that work to mitigate these future storms needs to continue, as disaster can strike at any time.

“It’s critical for us to be prepared,” Blais continued. “Investing in our communities has to be a top priority for the commonwealth.”

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.