Great Barrington’s Taft Farms served as both host to a working lunch for the state legislative tour and a potent reminder of the threat climate change poses to Massachusetts.
Paul Tawczynski manages the farm, which his father and uncle founded in the fertile soil of the Housatonic River Valley in the late 1960s.
He says the agricultural sector is on the front line of climate change impacts, from the threat of devasting floods like those in the summer of 2023 to a new ecosystem that has encouraged invasive species.
“Pests like the corn borer, pests like Japanese beetles that used to have to come up the coast over the course of the summer, now overwinter in our soil," he told WAMC. "Now the moths overwinter on our trees, and we're facing them earlier in the year and more aggressively throughout the year. So, to try to grow without chemicals and try to grow without pesticides, we're having to use more beneficial insects like trichogramma wasps, lacewings, and ladybugs, but it just costs so much more because you have to import so many more of them in order to combat the same problems that we didn't even have 20, 25 years ago.”
Tawczynski says the very livelihood of farmers across the commonwealth is at stake.
“In Massachusetts, we don't produce a lot of our food, a lot of our food is brought in," he pointed out. "So being able to have farms produce food for our state, it is our only real combatant for if anything, any type of natural disaster happens. I mean, let's face it, we're in the middle of a national food crisis right now. Food prices are increasing everywhere. There's not a single food you can buy in a grocery store that's not more expensive than it was a year ago. And you can make whatever political argument you want, but that's really a moot point. The fact of the matter, it's here and it's happening. So, to put the emphasis on farms and being able to support and sustain local farms can only positively impact our ability to support each other with food.”
The Berkshire listening tour marks the first of a session-long, commonwealth-crossing effort to hear from communities across Massachusetts about how climate change is reshaping modern life, including infrastructure needs, economic trends, and environmental concerns.
Democratic State Representative Tram Nguyen of the 18th Essex District is the chair of the Massachusetts Legislature’s House Committee on Climate Action & Sustainability.
The tour let her see conservation efforts to preserve Great Barrington’s Lake Mansfield as well as Greenagers at April Hill Farm in South Egremont.
“We've learned about the incredible work that they do, particularly with youth, getting them to be introduced to green tech and how to be more proactive with nature and getting into agricultural work," Nguyen told WAMC. "And that's just incredible, because climate action is really so interconnected with so many other facets, and that's why our committee, we're committed to working with other committees, including housing, transportation, economic development, because that's exactly what collaboration looks like. And in terms of the work that they do in Greenagers to get teenagers to be trained in these areas so that we can be in the forefront for green jobs, it's just incredible in terms of the economic development and how we can build that pipeline.”
The Democratic State Representative leading the tour says its timing reflects changing tides in national politics.
“One of the reasons for me bringing this climate action and sustainability committee here right now is that we're on the cusp of the federal funding cuts, and we need to make sure that eyes are here and making sure that the right thing is done," said Leigh Davis of the 3rd Berkshire District.
She said the most vivid example of that concern is the final stop of the tour: the controversial landfill site in Lee that will house toxic materials dredged out of the polluted Housatonic River. As the county braces for a much-debated and long-awaited cleanup by General Electric, which dumped cancer causing forever chemicals into the waterway from a Pittsfield factory throughout the 20th century, Davis says questions of federal oversight loom large.
“10 to 15 years, when we're going through this process of cleaning up the river, how is it going to impact towns? We look at the impact on the roads, we look at the impact on the schools that are on the roads," she told WAMC. "Thankfully, a lot of it's going to be pumped out, and a lot of it's going to be on train. But that wasn't the case before we really pushed for more trains and more pumping. So, we have to keep our eye on this, and we have to keep the pressure on EPA to make sure that they are overseeing this. So, my biggest worry is, you know, if the federal funding starts getting cut, how is this going to affect the oversight of this [upland disposal facility], and how is it going to impact oversight of making sure the air quality is up to standard, and the soil sampling. So, there's a lot of things- I mean, this is just the beginning.”
