RICHMOND

The Madison County Farmers Market in Richmond opened at 8 a.m. Saturday, and a little more than two hours latter, all of the green beans had been sold.

One customer regretted his tardiness when he asked Devin Powell of Powell Farm in Waco if he had any green beans.

I wanted some fresh beans and tomatoes, the customers said. Im sick of that hydroponic stuff.

Powell was able to satisfy the customers craving for fresh tomatoes, however.

By the time the green beans were gone, the heat was starting to turn oppressive, even if it hadnt reached the triple digits thermometers would record Saturday afternoon.

Without rain, the high temperatures will decimate crops, said farmers who worked in the shade of their canopies. Some said they had begun irrigating their fields but said they could not afford to continue for long.

Only a few thin ears of corn, which usually comes in best in July, could be found for sale at the market by mid-morning Saturday. The weather holds the fate of the corn crops.

We dont raise corn on our (Isbell-Smith) farm, said Paula Jones, the outdoor markets coordinator. But, if we dont get some rain soon, there may not be much corn or anything else.

Some farmers in the Baldwin Community, where she lives, have already started putting out bales of hay for their cattle, Jones said.

More:
Pre-drought vegetables sell briskly at market