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Farmers on the fronT lines of climate change

The CO-VID 19 pandemic is but the latest in the mounting evidence that human behavior is altering the healthy functioning of our natural systems. 

 

As perhaps society's closest observers of these troubling alterations—and our first responders to them—our farmers have deep wisdom and hands-on expertise to share as we seek to restore those systems to health. Beginning In the early weeks of the pandemic in New York, we saw ever more intricate and effective food delivery systems emerging from Hudson Valley farming networks. Those networks continue to innovate ways to meet the needs of our urban, suburban, and rural communities. If we needed proof that our farmers stand ready to deliver in times of crisis, we have that proof now. 

 

Here we lift up the voices of those farmers as they advocate for a prominent seat at the policymaking table as we grapple with the collateral damage of the Age of the Anthropocene—the intertwining challenges of climate change, pandemics, and species collapse that threaten our food system and humanity's future on Planet Earth.

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THE Round Up

What we learned from the farmers.

The regenerative farmers of the Hudson Valley are truly holistic thinkers and doers: demonstrating remarkable resourcefulness and resilience in the face of climate change. 

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SANDY GORDON

A veteran farmer shares his wisdom on climate change resiliency and transitioning ownership

“Whatever our age or experience,” Sandy says, every farmer wakes up and faces the same challenges. "We can learn things from the next generation of farmers and they can learn things from us," he reflects.

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BAri Zeiger 

Frost Valley Farm Manager & President, Greater Catskills Young Farmers Coalition

Bari Zeiger reports that small farmers bring a distinctive knowledge base and value system to farming and should be acknowledged and rewarded for the contributions they can make to climate change resilience.

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MATT SHEFFER

Managing Director, Hudson Carbon

Hudson Carbon is emerging as one of the most ambitious testing grounds for carbon farming in the country and is soon to launch an e-commerce carbon offset market.

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LARRY TSE

Dig Acres Farm Manager &  Vice President, Hudson Valley Young Farmers Coalition

Drawing on a diversity of food work experiences, Larry Tse is in a good position to know what policy reforms farmers need to see enacted if they are to operate sustainably in a climate-challenged world. 

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ELIZABETH MARKS

National Resource Conservation Services Biologist and Owner, Making the Turn Farm

Elizabeth Marks is developing a training program for USDA staff to better prepare them to help farmers improve the natural resources on their farms and to be more climate-change resilient.

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Larisa Jacobson

Co-director, Soul Fire Farm 

Larisa notes that "through our ancestral practices that call life and carbon back into the soil BIPOC farmers have a powerful role to play in addressing the current climate crisis." 

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jenna kincaid

Four Winds Farm Manager &  President, Hudson Valley Young Farmers Coalition

Jenna Kincaid, who's managed a no-till farm for the past eight seasons,  believes regenerative agriculture offers a lot of solutions to the social, environmental, and economic challenges of our time.

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