Understanding How We Can Make A Difference

(image from www.edf.org)

Farm News

It is difficult to feel such cool, crisp and wet mornings here in the Pacific Northwest knowing that Northern California is entrenched in disastrously dry, high-wind wildfires devastating the homes and agricultural livelihoods of so many people.

It should be evidently clear to most folks living in the US this year that weather patterns are increasingly more difficult to predict, so many people are struggling to keep up with the extreme catastrophes of hurricanes and wildfires. Although this year has been filled with tremendous weather adversity, the warming trend has been occurring for many years, and 2016 was the warmest year on record.

This warming trend in our climate has several negative reverberations from ocean temperatures to air quality to habitat loss. At the heart of this volatility is farming as water supplies are unpredictable and scarce in some places, and overabundant and penetrating in others.

As farmers in the Northwest for the last 22 years, we feel strongly that climate change is a major threat to agriculture, worldwide. Where, how and when we grow food is vitally connected to our climate’s normal patterns. As temperatures increase, farms are experiencing increased attacks from weeds, diseases and pests, at a minimum, and when there are intense and unstable storms and fires, all is usually lost.

Natural plants and animals are resilient, and every spring we witness this we plant and tend and harvest to our food system, but there is no doubt that it is becoming more challenging. We urge folks to get involved, educate your friends and families, and get out there and try to help. We need to find the time to make this a priority. As members with Full Circle, you are already engaged in this calling and make a huge difference in keeping local, sustainable land available for clean, healthy, organic produce and for this, we thank you!

There are other arenas that you can get involved: saving energy, understanding current U.S. policy, protecting wildlife and protecting resources for generations to come. The Environmental Defense Fund is a good place to start learning nationally: www.edf.org.

We love hearing from you and discovering some links that have made a difference in your efforts to find solutions.

As always we will continue to plant, grow and thrive in our mission for a healthy eating planet, for all!