Drought takes toll on Nursery Capital

LISA HOBBS – News Editor

Despite some recent rainfall, a local farmer says it has not been enough.

“We got an inch of rain on Sunday,” stated nurseryman Carl D. Bouldin, on Tuesday. “It was a blessing, and I was absolutely tickled to get every drop of it. It’s not even close to what we need to break this drought. The field growers, container growers, cattlemen, everybody… this drought has really put a toll on everyone. Cattle producers are already feeding hay. I’ve got some that I’m having to feed hay to, because there is no grass left. The rain we’ve gotten is far from being enough to make a difference. We’re in a category D3 now.”

The U.S. Drought Monitor classifies droughts into five main categories: D0 (abnormally dry), D1 (moderate drought), D2 (severe drought), D3 (extreme drought), and D4 (exceptional drought).

Bouldin is a container producer, as opposed to a field producer. His plants are grown in containers and under irrigation, which supplies a controlled amount of water to the plants. Despite this, he has lost plants due to the drought and extreme heat.

“I’ve had customers tell me that they have mature trees that are dying in the field. Two-to-three-inch trees that are dying in the field. I’ve lost containers under irrigation, because it is so dry that I just cannot keep them wet on the ends of the greenhouses. There’s not enough overlap, so they just can’t stay wet. So, that’s the challenges. We’ve lost plants because we just can’t keep enough water to them. They dehydrate.”

Extreme heat, combined with the lack of water, is also producing smaller plants than normal.

“I grow liners. The local people aren’t planting yet. It’s just too dry to plant. One thing, we’ve had extreme heat on top of that. This drought goes back to last October [2025]. We didn’t have a wet winter. It has been so dry, and we haven’t had any assistance with the rain much that the plants are just not growing like they normally do. They are going to be smaller because they just can’t grow in this drought.”

Financially, Bouldin guestimates that he’s lost between 10 to 15 percent of revenue while the loss for field growers could be as high as 30 percent.

“The loss is really difficult to put a finger on. I’m better off than field growers. People that are digging now are having to water trees to dig them. The ground is so dry that they are having to water one day and dig the next. Hauling water is labor intensive. From my end, it’s not nearly as bad, because I have irrigation and all my stuff is grown in containers. For the field producers, this drought has been worse. For me, I’m probably going to lose 10-15 percent this past season. For field producers, I’d say 20 to 30 percent.”

Bouldin says this season will be nothing compared to next year, if these conditions continue.

“If we don’t have a wet fall, we are really going to be in for it next year, because the water table has gotten so low in Warren County. You can look at the river when you go by it and see that. I was told that down in Center Hill that it’s been three months that they haven’t run water through the dam, because they don’t have enough water. We need relief from this, and that’s going to take a lot more rain than we’ve been getting. A lot more rain.”

The dam at Pepper Branch Park remains dry. Water stopped flowing over it several weeks ago. McMinnville Water Department employees took the opportunity to remove the debris from it and stack everything on the edge of the parking lot for removal.