New Times: How worried are you about the lack of rain this year?
Barlogio: Actually, very. Most of our crops are non-irrigated, so we really depend on rainfall, especially for the fruit trees. If the soil isnāt moist, we wonāt be able to plant late-season crops like safflower and pumpkins.
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New Times: Are there any crops that kick ass during droughts?
Barlogio: Nothing good. Yellow star thistle weeds seem to do well no matter what.
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New Times: Have you done any rain dances or cloud seeding to bring on the drops?
Barlogio Definitely prayer. The little bit weāve had lately is encouraging. Every little bit helps, and Iām optimistic that weāll get a good grain crop.
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New Times: How much rain do we need to bring to save winter?
Barlogio: Iād have to defer to husband on that one, as much as I hate to say it. We get more water here than the inland farms get, but we certainly need more.
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New Times: What if it doesnāt come?
Barlogio: Thatās a good question. Last year was too much rain at all the wrong times. This year, thereās not enough. But thatās farming. You try to stay diversified so youāre not dependant on one crop. Weāre small and nimble enough to change when we have to, but larger farms arenāt as lucky. ā
This article appears in Feb 16-23, 2012.