The number of farms in America has been steadily declining. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture finds a culprit is lower yields, drought, monsoons and conditions that affect all kinds of growers. For Sunswick Farm’s owner Brooks Mullahy, erratic, particularly wet weather affects her ability to produce honey.
(Rainfall and pollen)
“It's like the lake is falling out of the sky sometimes. The rain is so intense and so much of it. And what happens in terms of the bees is that the nectar and the pollen is washed off the plant,” she said.
For her, climate change has also caused her to lose more bees and the flowers they pollinate, which contributes to a lower yield. "Glad-to-Know-Ya" farm knows the effects of crop loss all too well. Julie Akins and Randy Dickinson fight changing temperatures put their crops at risk.
(Crop Loss from Climate Change)
“We've had 70–80-degree days in March and April and we shouldn't have that here and then everything will bud and kind of wake up like your strawberry blossoms and your apple blossoms and then we'll have a hard freeze, and it will kill everything,” she said. “We have lost our strawberry crop three years in a row. We have lost most of our apple crops three years row,”
For them, every crop counts on the family-owned farm spanning generations. They have to invest in covering crops or using a sprinkler system for things like strawberries. Dutch Hill arm founder Dave Williams has also had to lean on technology to produce maple syrup to use new technology to fight climate change in his industry.
(Vacuum System for Maple Syrup)
“Well, we use vacuum systems that pull the sap out. Years ago, natural flow was primarily what we used, but now with the vacuum system it gives us a better chance of having longer sap runs because otherwise, we just don't get the cold nights like we used to consistently below freezing,” he said. So with vacuum, you'll get two or three days of good flow versus just one day,”
Williams adds, however, sap has lower sugar content needing more to produce the same amount of syrup … and drought and heat threaten the trees that are at the center of his business. Farmers have always dealt with change an uncertainty … and they remain optimistic they can keep going as climate change challenges their sustainability.
New technology can help Dutch Hill get more sap from the trees, but they are fragile, and climate change threatens their ability to even grow. He already has noticed sap with lower sugar content, meaning he needs more sap to get the same amount of syrup.
(Trees like cooler climate)
"Well, it's just too warm. Even in the summer, trees don't like it. They're like human beings. They like it 75-80, not 85-90. And seem to have more and more overcast conditions with wildfires; you wonder what the smoke in the air is, what's done to the trees."
Some farmers hold out hope that they can keep their businesses going sustainably, but climate change is putting uncertainties in that. For maple syrup and honey there is only so much they can do. For produce farmers, the increased money cuts into their profit margins, which puts their sustainability at risk. Click here to listen to this episode of the Deeper Shade of Green podcast.
