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.
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