New England farms are turning green to survive the recession, and that doesn't mean growing more vegetables, Kathy McCabe of The Boston Globe reports. Essex County, Mass., farms are adding solar panels and wind turbines to reduce energy costs, using compost instead of chemical fertilizers to spur growing conditions, and installing steel fences and drain pipes to protect water supplies. “We are naturally a ‘green’ industry," Massachusetts Agriculture Commissioner Scott Soares tells McCabe. “The changes farmers are making now are going to guide them into the future.’’
The green movement is seen by many farmers as a return to their roots. “Basically, green farming is going back to nature,’’ farmer Bill Clark, who sits on the board of the Essex Agricultural Society, tells McCabe. “My father and grandfather farmed this way years ago.’’ The state agriculture department says it has provided $184,424 to Essex County farms for conservation projects since 1999.
Arrowhead Farm in Newburyport has begun using livestock to clear crops and naturally fertilize land, lowering costs of feed, fuel and labor. A steel fence divides each pasture, McCabe reports, and after the crop in a pasture is picked cattle, hogs or chickens are released to graze the field. “We’re not having to bring feed to the animals,’’ owner Dick Chase, tells McCabe. “We don’t have to use machinery. It eliminates the use of fuel. The cattle spread the fertilizer and consume the crop where it was grown.’’
Not all aspects of green farming have succeeded in Massachusetts; early indications suggest that wind turbines don't yield the energy promised. "It’s either because original wind maps we used weren’t accurate or the equipment doesn’t perform as represented," farmer Ed Cook told McCabe. A consultant is looking into the problem. Commissioner Soares explains, "It comes down to the uncertainty of the wind. We have found that with the earlier generators, the power curves weren’t exactly as they were supposed to be." (Read more)
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