As Wildfire Smoke Engulfs Region, Farmers Stay in the Fields During Summer Peak Season

LIBERTY, N.Y. – Brenda Miller owns a five-acre diversified vegetable farm in Liberty, New York. She’s spent a lot of time outdoors this summer: cutting kale, collards, and bok choy. But on Wednesday morning, her workday was clouded with smokier air conditions.

New York state announced a statewide air quality advisory on Wednesday and extended it until Thursday due to the impact of smoke from wildfires in Canada. Pennsylvania also declared a statewide Code Red Air Quality for Thursday.

Still, many farmers remained outdoors in the fields as the sky grew hazier with smoke on Wednesday.

“This is a farm, and it is the growing season. It’s kind of impossible not to stay out and work for long days,” said Miller.

Wildfires in Canada have created poor air quality throughout the state on Wednesday, with the worst impacts expected in western and central New York and the Lake Ontario regions. Poor air quality has begun to make its way down to the lower Hudson Valley and New York City by Wednesday afternoon.

Connor Young, agricultural program manager at the Watershed Agricultural Council, says farmers often feel they don’t have a choice whether or not to work outdoors, especially during the summer peak seasons.

“It’s essentially a workplace hazard, right? The respiratory impacts that they face as well as [for] livestock can be pretty serious,” he said. “The heat index and the heat stress components related to animal production and even the farmers themselves, that can be a very real threat as well.”

The wildfire smoke adds another challenge for farmers who were already recovering from a damaging late spring frost that swept across farms in the Northeast. In late April, an overnight frost struck the Hudson Valley and Catskills regions, with temperatures dropping as low as 19 degrees in some parts of New York state. The frost came after warmer temperatures that kicked fruit tree buds into bloom, leaving some farmers with a near-total loss for their fruit crops.

READ: After Frost Crop Loss, NY’s Apple Farmers Say Agriculture is a Growing ‘Gamble’

Miller says that farmers increasingly have to prepare the soil to withstand climate change.

“ I feel like we don’t really have hot days anymore. We have heat warnings. We don’t really have rainy days anymore. We have flood watches. Everything comes in spades,” said Miller. “To be prepared to be able to grow crops that can withstand that, there are all these sort of long-term changes we have to work on.”

Young agrees. “We’re seeing this as increased reality… but for now, most farmers are just still getting after it because it’s that time of year.”

New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Amanda Lefton said that visible smoke is not always indicative of air quality.

“That might be happening at higher levels. It’s not necessarily making its way to the ground. So again, the most important thing that New Yorkers can do today as we continue to see poor air quality from wildfire smoke is be air quality aware,” said Lefton.

Dr. James McDonald, Commissioner for the New York State Department of Health, said that extreme heat and air quality, specifically at particulate matter (PM) 2.5, are of great concern. PM 2.5 are tiny particles that are less than 2.5 microns.

”When these tiny particles get breathed in by us, if you have asthma in particular or other underlying lung or heart disease, these particles, when they get into our system, get all the way down into our lungs, all the way down into our tiny breathing tubes, and even up next to our microscopic balloons, the alveoli, where we breathe, and they can cause inflammation,”

McDonald advised New Yorkers, especially sensitive individuals, to stay indoors if possible.

You can find up-to-date air quality information at AirNow.gov.

New York state recommends the following for individuals in affected areas:

Sensitive groups should take particular caution.

Where the air is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups, New Yorkers with underlying health conditions should make outdoor activities shorter and less intense, and take breaks to reduce the risk of health symptoms.

In areas where the air is considered unhealthy, people who are especially sensitive to the effects of elevated levels of pollutants should make outdoor activities shorter and less intense, and take breaks to reduce the risk of health symptoms. Avoid spending time outdoors, if possible. People more sensitive to smoke-related pollution include those with heart or breathing problems, older adults, children and teens, pregnant people, and those who exercise or work outdoors.

If you must go outside when air quality levels are considered unhealthy, do not overexert yourself, and find a well-fitting mask to wear.

Remember to take steps to cool off in air conditioning for at least a few hours because it’s also hot outside and indoor and outdoor temperatures can climb quickly.

Staying indoors in a smoke-free environment can lower your exposure.

Those who experience symptoms or have symptoms that worsen should consider consulting their medical provider.

Image: Bobolink Farm in Liberty, N.Y. on July 15, 2026 (Photo Credit: Kimberly Izar)