By Margaret Lanphear
Sentinel Farm is a small, family-run farm in western Massachusetts. The farm’s main crop since 1984 has been apples, but over the years, we have added other fruit trees and filled the barn with chickens and Nigerian dwarf goats. Managing the operation has given us lots of pleasure and a modest income. During COVID-19, my husband and I virtually attended the 2020 NOFA MA conference. There were many thought-provoking presentations that winter with a significant focus on “planning to adapt to climate change” and it caused us to seriously re-evaluate several aspects of our farming.
We began by working with NRCS (Natural Resource Conservation Service) to apply for an EQUIP (Environmental Quality Incentive Program) grant. We secured the grant for 2023 and then experienced firsthand the impact of climate change on our orchard production. That year, we lost our entire peach and plum crop due to a warmer-than-average January followed by a hard freeze. Although the apple crop started regularly, a May freeze caused a loss of many of the newer varieties and some partial damage in other trees. 2023 became the year of learning new things and planning a different strategy. There were two allocations in the grant, one for developing a pollinator habitat and one for a study to help us move toward organic management of the orchard. We had the benefit of two different technical service provider agencies. Xerces brought people to the farm to help decide how, when and where we could do a planting to support beneficial insects. Northern Tilth sent a team to survey and sample soils and interview us on our current orchard practices so they could generate maps and suggestions that would be helpful to us. We learned a great deal during the interaction with these knowledgeable professionals. We now have written documentation about the quality of our soil and explicit instructions on how to proceed. This experience has reinforced the benefit of education.
In addition to adaptation to climate change, we have been making gradual adaptations to our advancing age. We have phased out the number of farmers markets we attend because of the demands of loading and unloading. We reduced the box size we use for picking and sorting apples, replacing many old bushel boxes with new half-bushels. We encourage more people to join us for pick-your-own activities by starting a “make your own cider” activity and offering “adopt a tree” opportunities for families. We invited families to attend other events at the farm, some provided by a neighbor who offers a multi-week outdoor learning curriculum for families of young children. We have hosted multiple events with our church, indirectly exposing more people to our natural environment. Orchard maintenance has changed over the years as well since our daughters and grandchildren are rarely available now to help us keep the grass cut. We only mow the more open areas in the orchard once or twice a year with a new BCS Sickle bar. The first cutting is collected for mulch and the second cutting is gradually dried, collected and stored for winter feeding of the Nigerian goats. The septuagenarian farmers more easily accomplish this instead of buying, loading and stacking baled hay in the barn, and the goats seem to like the loose second-cut hay.
As we embrace change, we are excited to implement many new recommendations and plan to devote more time to educating others about the benefits of preserving our environment. Our farm is in a densely populated village on a quiet road with daily foot traffic. The pollinator garden will be located near our lane and we would like to offer events to highlight what individuals can do to promote beneficial insects. Hopefully, our neighbor who has taught classes here for children will help with the education. We would like to expand the “adopt a tree” concept and encourage those families we teach to prune and remain with their tree for another year to get a complete harvest. Finally, in the years to come, as we age, we hope to become better stewards of our farm and share our space with others so they can continue to advance the cause on behalf of our environment.
Meg (she/her/hers) shares and enjoys all aspects of the farm operation, www.Sentinelfarm.com.
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