Family's East Austin organic farm drying up

AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) -- Almost daily there is another example of devastation from developing drought.

The diminishing rainfall is taking a toll on an East Travis County organic farm.

The following is a transcript from KXAN Austin News' Jim Swift, who tells us the drought is only part of the problem.   

Katie and David Pitre's Tecolote farm is among the oldest of Travis County's organic operations.

When the couple first opened 15 years ago, Katie was just 24 years old.

"My kids, I had children on my back, in my overalls," says Katie Pitre. "You know, I would have a baby right here while I'm harvesting."

In addition to plenty of children, there was also plenty of water.

"The worst drought we've had in the last 15 years, the water level never dropped here," says David Pitre. "There was a really nice water table, and it was really stable. It might drop 2 feet in that old hand-dug well, and it worked great right up until, you know. They started putting in all these pumps across the street."

Those pumps bring water to a slew of new subdivisions in the area, as well as to a new county park for watering softball diamonds, soccer fields and a recreational catch-and-release fishing pond.

"We haven't even had enough water to flush the toilet lately," says Katie Pitre. "I've been doing all my laundry at the Laundromat and taking the kids to the YMCA to take a shower since May 19."

All of this could not come at a worse time.

As consumers get better educated about the benefits of local organic food, demand is soaring.

At Tecolote Farms, they not only sell to farmers' markets, but also directly to individuals, and they deliver. The wait time to get on that delivery list is at least two years.

This year, even existing customers will get no tomatoes.

"That was the first thing we let go," says David Pitre.

"And that's our biggest cash crop, and it's gone," says Katie Pitre. "We will not sell more than 10 pounds of tomatoes this year."

What scares the Pitres the most is that the farm itself may wind up dying on the vine.

The Pitres are looking for ways to help their farm survive. Meanwhile, they say the community can help by patronizing local farmers' markets.