NJ Crops are Drowning

Local farmers are taking a hit with all the rain over the last month and that could affect the price of produce in grocery stores.

"I'm waiting for my Jersey tomatoes, I really like them. They're the best," said Lisa Thompson.

Thompson and everybody else who likes fresh Jersey produce will have to wait weeks, and in some cases a month, to get the fruits and vegetables they crave. The plants are in the ground, but they haven't had a chance to grow yet.

"These are cucumbers. They should be all across the row. ... You won't (be seeing them) for at least a month," said John Rigolizzo, a Camden County farmer.

Rigilizzo, the past president of the New Jersey Farmers Bureau, said that all the rain and cloud cover is slowing the growth of everything.

Rigilizzo said that all the crops in New Jersey are late and some of what is in the fields may not make it at all because it is standing in water. Yellow leaves are a signal the plants are drowning.

"You're getting a deprivation of oxygen and after so many days of that, things will go the other direction. They'll just turn over and die," Rigilizzo said.

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