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    Eco Geek
    November 30, 2007

    Dan Bates / The Herald (click to enlarge)
    Chefs Michael Ruthruff and Teresa Akkerman from the Everett Events Center prepare winter squash soup for Thursday's Focus on Farming conference at the Lynnwood Convention Center.
     
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    Farmers could be hit hardest by climate change, peak oil


    Posted at 1:46 pm by Sarah Jackson

    Yesterday, I attended Focus on Farming, Snohomish County’s fourth-annual farm conference.

    It was awesome -- enlightening and inspiring.

    I met so many interesting farmers, including a guy farming with horses instead of tractors near Arlington, a pear farmer from the Leavenworth area and an organic grower who has become so fed up with organic certification paperwork, he’s gone conventional, even though he’s still raising food organically. (I also ran into many of the farmers The Herald has featured during the past year as part of our Get Fresh Food-page series.)

    Lunch, of course, was a big highlight, showcasing local food from numerous local farms, including squash soup with produce from the Klesick Family Farm in Stanwood, spinach and Delicata squash from Willie Greens Organic Farm in Monroe, fresh fruit from Ed’s Apples in Sultan and Theo Chocolate treats made with mint from Ninety Farms in Arlington and delicious cream from Golden Glen Creamery in Bow.

    What I found most surprising from listening to the keynote speakers was the heavy impact climate change and peak oil are expected to have on agriculture.

    KPLU’s broadcast today, including audio from keynote Focus on Farming speaker Chad Kruger with Washington State University’s Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, sums it up succinctly.

    Kruger said that fewer days with frost will likely bring more pests and diseases into local crops, causing farmers to spray food crops shortly before they are set to go to market for public consumption.

    Not good.

    But it was Fred Kirschenmann with Iowa State University’s Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, who really blew my mind.

    He said we can’t wait until the price of oil hits $100 or even $250 a barrel to build wind turbines and other infrastructure for alternative energy sources. We need to do it now, when oil is still relatively cheap, because the petroleum required just to manufacture, distribute and install things like wind turbines will be considerable.

    It’s also why farmers need to start thinking now about how they’re going to make money as their fuel, energy and petroleum-derived synthetic fertilizer and pesticide costs go up.

    "Everything that farmers use is based on a petroleum economy," Kirschenmann said. "It's going to particularly hit farming hard."

    Wow.

    Am I right?

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