BY ROSS BROWN
South Jersey Climate News
On Dec. 5, 2025, the New Jersey State Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) declared a drought warning across the South Jersey region. As of Oct.1, the DEP declared the drought warning no longer in effect for most of the South Jersey region, aside from the southern coastal regions, making this year-long drought finally come to a close.
The Coastal South region of the state, which includes Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland counties, as well as portions of Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Ocean and Salem counties, has been moved from drought warning to drought watch status.
A drought watch “indicates that conditions are dry but not yet significantly so. During a drought watch, the Department closely monitors drought indicators (including precipitation, stream flows and reservoir and ground water levels, and water demands) and consults with affected water suppliers,” according to the NJDEP website.
While being on a drought watch indicates a relief from the recent dry conditions in the South Jersey, the damage of the drought has already been done and area farmers are still experiencing its effects.
In West Cape May at Reas Farm, Kelly Keppel, the farm’s operations manager, explained how the drought has lasted over 18 months for him and, as a result, affected the farm economically.
“I planted seven acres in field corn, and none of it germinated. None of it came up,” Keppel said. “So, then I had to replant that field so that I would have a corn maze this year. Consequently, the corn maze did not grow to its optimal height. So, the corn maze is a little disappointing.
“Then, between this farm and rented ground, I planted 50 acres in hay, and I had a very poor germination rate on the hay,” he added. “I had two other cornfields fail this year that I did not replant because I could not afford the seed. Consequently, the farm is not going to generate the same amount of income as it did last year, to the tune of about a $20,000 loss.”
The effects of a drought can be varied, according to John Krasting, New Jersey’s State Climatologist.
“A drought has many different impacts,” he said. “It can affect the water supply; it can affect agriculture; it can affect tourism. There are many different ways in which a reduction in water or dry period can impact people in the way they live.”
According to Drought.gov, a drought is defined as a “deficiency of precipitation over an extended period of time (usually a season or more), resulting in a water shortage.”
With the drought being moved to a watch status, Ben Casella, the National Policy Director for the New Jersey Farm Bureau, explained how the agricultural industry is still being affected.
“Drought affects the agricultural industry differently depending on the crops,” Casella said in an email. “The fruit and vegetable industry is the least impacted because dry weather can be beneficial for growing produce, and farmers can supply water as needed. Most farms growing those crops will have irrigation.”
However, “excess rainfall, such as this late summer and fall, can cause disease and decay in the produce from wet, humid conditions,” Casella said. Also, “drought can have a greater impact on the grain and forage industry because much of it is not irrigated.”
Something else that is cause for concern is the extreme weather shifts. The recent Nor’easter that hit this month along with excessive rain has been having an effect on the state.
“Farms have always dealt with extreme weather, whether drought or excess rain, but at times rain and heat/drought are more extreme, so growers have started implementing strategies to lessen the impact,” Casella said. “One practice is using high tunnels to help offset periods of heavy rain. It provides more uniform growing conditions.
“For drought, many farms have adopted low-volume irrigation practices such as drip irrigation or center pivots,” he added.
Keppel of Reas Farm explained that the recent drought also means that he has had to use more diesel fuel to make his machines work, which made his costs go up.
“I think that many people come into a farmers market, not just mine…any farmers market or grocery store, and they look at the price of vegetables and think, ‘Oh, this farmer is charging so much, he must be making tons of money.’ That’s not true,” Keppel said.
“Farmers work on a small margin. They have to,” he said. “These days, we had to deal with the drought, so we had to pay to pump the water onto the vegetables. Diesel prices are through the roof. It wasn’t very long ago that I bought $2.75 for a gallon and now I’m paying $6, and this farm runs on diesel. Every single machine requires diesel.”
Casella explained how a rise in costs is one of the greatest challenges for farmers this year.
“The biggest issue will be expenses,” he said. “Most farms will use diesel pumps, and some use electric pumps to pump water. The issue is that, like this year, high diesel prices would create high costs for growers.”
