Martha’s Vineyard is almost, but not quite, out of drought conditions. The assessment of drought conditions in Massachusetts was revised after Jan. 5, according to a report from Colin A. Young at the State House News Service. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, Martha’s Vineyard is the only part of the state classified as “abnormally dry” — the lowest intensity of drought — and Nantucket is the only region considered to be sufficiently hydrated.
Citing data from the U.S. Drought Monitor, Mr. Young reported that extreme drought is now limited to a small area that covers most of Hampden County, and parts of Hampshire and Berkshire counties, just 8.6 percent of the commonwealth’s area.
This is a decrease from 36 percent of the state the previous week, and is the smallest area in extreme drought since early August. At the height of the drought, in September, more than 52 percent of the state was in the extreme drought classification.
Much of the rest of the state — 60.5 percent — is still experiencing severe drought, while Cape Cod and much of southeastern Massachusetts — 29 percent of the state — remain in moderate drought.
Jon Previant, the general manager of the FARM Institute in Edgartown, said the main consequence of the drought for his farm was to put his animals on hay a month earlier. “We don’t raise hay,” he said. “We’ve committed all of our land to pasture, so adding a month is significant.”
Mr. Previant noted that most farms on the Island are on sandy soil with little water-holding capacity. Ideally, he said, he wants rain every week during the growing season, but last year he didn’t get any at all. “The grass burns down,” he said. “Its growth cycle shortens.”
With the apparent end of the drought, he will wait to see if there are consequences. “Will [this spring’s] growth be affected by being shorted?” he wondered. “Was it affected by overgrazing; should we have pulled the animals off six weeks earlier instead of four?”
The FARM Institute tries to put its cattle and sheep out to pasture after May 1, but it depends on how quickly the fields green up. Mr. Previant and his staff walk their fields regularly to assess the conditions. Starting in April, they will be out there at least once a week.