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Hartford County staple Botticello Farms, located in Manchester at 209 Hillstown Rd., suffered the loss of 90 percent of its crops after a severe flooding event in July that left their fields almost completely flooded.
In a post on social media from Wednesday, July 12, owner Tony Botticello posted photos and videos depicting fields that looked more like ponds than farmland.
Because the farm suffered such a severe loss, it has been struggling to maintain itself in the face of losing massive profits. However, a GoFundMe page started by fellow farmers Heidi Luck and Ellen Oechsler, owners of Luck of Bolton Farm in Tolland County, is determined to raise the money needed to maintain Botticello Farms.
On the fundraiser page, Luck wrote that all funds would go toward immediate payroll for the farm's employees and for paying bills.
"These people are members of our community and we need to support them in their time of need," Luck added.
On the GoFundMe page, the owners of Botticello Farms wrote that they have never experienced such a loss.
"We have had many hard seasons working with Mother Nature, and have suffered losses before, but never in our history have we lost everything just when the season was starting," they wrote, continuing, "Normally the river floods in the early spring before it is planted or in the late fall, after the season has just about ended."
"But, we hope to weather this storm and keep offering fresh, local products on the farmstand through this season, and as we all say, 'There's always next year,'" the owners added.
Botticello Farms, which is located near the Glastonbury and East Hartford town lines, is the only operating vegetable farm left in Manchester and has been in operation since 1973.
Those interested in donating to the GoFundMe page can do so by clicking here.
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