Small-time farming can be a tough way to make a living even in the best of times, and the current coronavirus pandemic is making it even harder for some.

You could say this is what Les Draudt was born to do. 

"The farm was started by my grandfather in 1923," he said. "I don't know any better -- I just know how to work."

Hard work is the foundation for Draudt's Farm Market and Greenhouses in Hamburg.

"We put everything we have into this place," he said.

Farmers are used to being at the mercy of Mother Nature -- but the spread of the coronavirus is nothing they could prepare for. 

"It's just opened up a new problem that we never saw coming, that we have no control over," Draudt said.

In a normal year, the farm, which is part of the Eden Valley Growers cooperative, relies on selling spring plants and flowers for the Easter holiday. 

But with many churches and markets they supply now closed, and people staying home because of COVID-19, business has taken a big hit.

"A couple of weeks ago, I realistically looked at whether I could keep going," Draudt said.

The sales from the spring help pay for the next set of crops -- from more plants and flowers, to vegetable seeds for the summer and into the fall.

"We quit paying ourselves a few weeks ago. The money just isn't there," he said.

With bills and worries piling up, Les's wife Lynda posted a message on the market's Facebook page Sunday explaining the situation and asking for people to consider coming out to buy flowers.

They even offered a drive up service if you call in your order. The business is deemed essential since it sells seeds and supplies for people to grown their own food in a garden.

As you might expect, Western New Yorkers have responded. Draudt's was flooded by customers on Monday. 

"We're just a little farm and yet people are coming out here from a long ways away," Draudt said.

People like Debbie Burandt, who saw the Facebook post and drove up from the Holland area.

"We've got to keep these little companies open," she said. "We've been trying to support the local restaurants and the nurseries. Wherever we can buy, we buy."

And that's given Les and his family hope they can make it through this crisis.

"It's season-to-season for us, holiday-to-holiday. That's what we live for," he said.