At the end of September, I visited Bill Maxwell’s farm in Changewater, NJ, which is located due west of the city by just over an hour. Definitely one of the closer farms to us. Bill’s home is located on the Musconetcong River, which is quite beautiful and serene. He has a few, large hoop houses on his property plus a plot of asparagus. He rents two larger pieces of land not far from his home. He’s wanted to buy one of the properties over the years but the family hasn’t wanted to sell. Sadly, Bill is thinking of retirement in the near future. Though he said he may continue to farm his own property and still supply his loyal customers in the city. He wouldn’t have as abundant an amount of produce but something is better than nothing.

While last year farmers were hit hard by a drought, this year was the exact opposite. Unfortunately, due to the heavy rains this summer, combined with the geology of the land, large sink holes appeared on one of the properties he farms. He lost a lot of sweet potatoes amongst other crops. Furthermore, he couldn’t get on the tractor in the areas surrounding the sinkholes or use other large equipment. On his other rented land he grows the majority of his pumpkins, which were ravaged. It was so sad to see all these rotting pumpkins in the field.