BAV leads lecture on farming in a changing climate

Sara Keleman, Climate and Agriculture Specialist, spoke at “Farming in a Changing Climate” held at the Greenagers’ Barn at April Hill Farm in South Egremont, Massachusetts.

Photo by L. Tomaino

BAV leads lecture on farming in a changing climate

SOUTH EGREMONT, Mass. — On Sept. 18, Berkshire Agricultural Ventures (BAV) presented “Farming in a Changing Climate” to coincide with Climate Week NYC. It was held at the Greenagers’ Barn at April Hill Farm in South Egremont.

BAV works to support Litchfield, Berkshire, Columbia, and Dutchess County farmers with education, financial support and technical assistance. Greenagers works with teenagers and young adults, through firsthand work in farming, environmental conservation, and natural resource management.

Sarah Monteiro of Greenagers started the event with a tour of the one-acre vegetable garden that is hand scaled, meaning no machinery is used. The work is mostly done by teens in the farm work summer program.

Monteiro is learning to deal with crops during climate change. Growing plants can suffer heat stress with the hotter temperatures, and she said it is becoming more difficult to grow lettuce and other greens. “A lot of it is observation,” Monteiro said, referring to knowing what is growing well and under what conditions.

Climate change is bringing an increase of insect pests such as Colorado Potato beetles and squash borers. At Greenagers they do not spray with pesticides and use methods of covering the plants to deter insects.

After the tour Sara Keleman, Climate and Agriculture Specialist, spoke in the Greenager Barn.

Keleman explained that average temperatures are up three degrees from the 1970’s. “And it may increase more quickly in the next fifty years,” she said.

“It will be hotter and wetter. There will be more precipitation, an extended mud season, and stronger, slower storms with heavier rainfalls.” An extended mud season can cause delayed planting.

“Winters will be warmer, and it will be hotter during parts of the year when it is supposed to be cold,” Keleman said. With warmer winters there will be less snow. Snow protects soil during the winter and helps prevent erosion.

Growing zones have changed. “Half the country has shifted to the next half zone,” Keleman said. “We are losing cooler zones.”
Keleman said it’s best to have a backup power source, emergency plans for animals, and have neighbors ready to help (get animals and crops under protection, deal with flooding, winds, or storm damage).

Ben Crockett, BAV program manager, moderated a panel to answer questions about climate change.

Sarah Chase of Chaseholm Farm in Pine Plains answered a question about increased temperatures and dairy cows. She has planted more trees to provide shade for her herd. Fans or misters in barns are other options for cooling animals.

Lauren Piotrowski of Roots Rising in Pittsfield, which works to educate teens on farming and food, commented about the challenges of climate change. “I’ve become trickier and more wily to cope with this. Soil health, biodiversity, and resilient systems with plans in place if things don’t go right,” are important.

To the question, “what are the tools you still need?” Sarah Monteiro responded, “More supporting organizations and support for farmers when crises come and before they come.”

An audience member said he’d lost a fruit crop two years before to seventy-degree weather in March. His trees budded, then temperatures plummeted and killed the buds.

Moderator Crockett said climate change will “make growing fruit more challenging.”

Crockett suggested alternating rows of fruit trees with other crops to balance the risk for bad years and to try more resilient tree varieties.

The lecture and discussion ended with a reminder to celebrate and support local farm markets and farms and to support the Farm Bill coming up in Congress.

Latest News

Haystack Festival brings literary minds to Norfolk

The Great Room at Norfolk Library filled to capacity for the Haystack Festival.

Jennifer Almquist

Just after noon on Sunday, Oct. 6, attendees of Norfolk Foundation’s Haystack Festival spilled out of the red Shingle Style Norfolk Library into brilliant October sunshine, emerging from the final book talk of the weekend (excepting an event for young readers later in the day). The talk, which was a conversation between horse experts journalist Sarah Maslin Nir and author David Chaffetz, was rife with equine puns and startling facts. The tongue-in-cheek use of the word “cavalier” brought laughs from the engaged audience, while Nir disclosed that horses eat for a full 16 hours a day.

The talk brought levity and humor to the festival’s conclusion, while also diving into the serious history of the relationship between society and horses. Chaffetz explained horses were fundamental in the formation of large empires: “We don’t see empires until horses became fundamental to the political state.” Nir elaborated that the “wild” horses in North America are not native, but feral horses descended from animals brought by Spanish imperialists. “No tea grows in England,” she explained, “it is the result of empire – and so are horses.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Project SAGE's solemn vigil

"The Red Sand Project" is intended to draw attention to often overlooked domestic violence issues in the Northwest Corner.

Natalia Zukerman

To mark the start of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Project SAGE held its annual community vigil on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at Community Field in Lakeville. Project SAGE is a community-focused organization dedicated to supporting, advocating, guiding and educating victims of relationship violence through a range of services and outreach programs.

A large group of people gathered quietly in the center of the field where they were handed packets of red sand. Red Sand Project, created by artist and activist Molly Gochman, is a participatory artwork that uses sidewalk interventions and earthwork installations to encourage people to reflect, connect, and take action against the vulnerabilities that contribute to human trafficking, modern slavery, and exploitation.

Keep ReadingShow less
Northwest Corner artists unite for Clay Way Tour Oct. 19-20

Pottery of all sorts will be on display at the Clay Way Tour, featuring 26 area artists.

Provided

Now in its 8th year, The Clay Way Studio Tour is an annually held event featuring some of Connecticut’s best potters. Twenty six artists will show their work among nine studios.

The Tour takes place in Litchfield County Connecticut and Wingdale, New York Oct.19 and 20 from 10 a.m to 5 p.m. Potter and organizer Jane Herald explained the origin of the tour.

Keep ReadingShow less