“Farming in a Changing Climate” is the second annual climate-based event organized by regional farming advocacy group Berkshire Agricultural Ventures, or BAV. It’s timed to serve as a lead-in to Climate Week NYC and the United Nations General Assembly’s Summit of the Future, which begins on Sunday.
“This event is all about highlighting the voices of farmers in our region and what their experiences have been in recent growing seasons, given that climate change has kind of created a new normal that we talk about, sometimes in weather patterns and how those affect growing conditions and really farm business viability at the end of the day," said Ben Crockett, BAV’s Program Manager for Climate Smart Agriculture. “The biggest one is usually some form of water, either too much or not enough. In 2022 it was a year that we were experiencing very dry conditions, some drought conditions, even, and irrigation and labor to manage irrigation became a huge challenge, same with keeping animals healthy and safe and hydrated. And 2023 was the exact opposite. The rain never really stopped, and the conversations that I was having with farmers was more about how to get water out of fields, how to make sure drainage is adequate, how to make sure soil health is in a good place, to deal with these deluges of rain that we get more frequently now.”
Last July’s heavy flooding across the Northeast resulted in over $2 billion in damage and 10 deaths according to a report by the National Centers for Environmental Information and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Wind has been showing up in more ways, both between, basically, the Berkshire hills and into the Hudson Valley, knocking crops off down or damaging infrastructure," Crockett continued. "Heat, high heat, or just burst of heat at the wrong time of year have really affected both farm workers and crop production in various ways. And then the other one has been really these shrinking winters that we've had where the ground never freezes. That just creates a whole other slew of problems for any kind of farm operation. We miss our winter sometime. It really does a lot to rest the land and allow farmers to go in and do other work they can't do during the growing season.”
“We've got one expert, Sara Kelemen, most recently of the Northeast United States Department of Agriculture climate hub," Crockett said. "She's going to be starting off the night with us, kind of giving a sense of the data and the projections and where weather trends are heading for the Northeast. And then we're going to have a panel of three farmers, and they'll be basically sharing their stories about their own farming experience. And we've got a mix of farmers- Sarah Chase of Chaseholm Farm, which is in Pine Plains, Sarah Monteiro of Greenagers, who's hosting us at the Greenagers space at April Hill, and then also Lauren Piotrowski of Roots Rising out of Pittsfield.”
Greenagers is a Berkshire nonprofit that connects local youth with outdoor work including agriculture.
“I think because we're an organization that works primarily with youth, there's no escaping the climate crisis for anybody, but I think when you're working with generations that are the ages we do, 14 to 24, it's just been such a dominant part of their life and world, is knowing about climate crisis, living through climate crisis," said Greenagers farm director Sarah Monteiro. “I hear definitely, a lot of fear, a lot of anxiety, and I think that is the main piece. I think there's also the desire to face it and acknowledge it head on, to not ignore it or disregard it from younger generations. I do notice a lot of a lot of anxiety. It's a deep worry for younger generations, the state of this planet.”
Crockett says the existential threat of climate change is maybe no better expressed than through food.
“I think this is most exemplified by what was experienced by many communities during the COVID-19 pandemic impacts at their height," he told WAMC. "A lot of the food systems that support our day-to-day food needs are based on these national or even international systems, and when those run into problems, which they can in all kinds of ways, and climate is going to increase those chances, it's really important to have that network of local food production that works in tandem with that larger food system and supports our communities when there are these extreme events, or, God forbid, emergency events where food access becomes very limited, and having that healthy, available food from local farms is right out our back door.”
Berkshire Agricultural Ventures’ “Farming in a Changing Climate” event starts at 5 at the Greenagers Barn on the April Hill Farm.
