Welcome to the first edition of HHCD's quarterly newsletter! We are truly grateful that you have signed up to follow us - we value your support!

Inside this edition, you will find an article on the impacts of climate change on maple syrup, and learn about our Healthy Soils Program, Native Plant Program, the Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Fellowship, and an upcoming farm tour. Enjoy!

Maple syrup is not simply one of the most delicious substances on earth, it is also a valuable economic product, and a cherished cultural tradition that dates back long before colonial settlement, to the Indigenous communities that stewarded the land since time immemorial.

Maple syrup production is dependent on cold nights and warm days, and the science behind this freeze-thaw cycle is truly fascinating, but this climate dependent cycle makes the production and flow of maple sap highly susceptible to climate change. Current climate trends, and future projections, indicate that New England will experience more significant warming in the winter, than any other season. Indeed, numerous states broke records this winter for the warmest season in recorded history. 

How is this impacting maple syrup production? I have read many articles and spoken with several maple syrup producers, and most everyone agrees that the sugaring season is shifting earlier, is shorter in duration, and is increasingly erratic and hard to predict. In addition, the quality of the sap is changing - sugar content is dropping, which means producers need to boil more sap to get one gallon of syrup, and the flavor profile can be affected by climate. On top of that, the health of the trees may decline due to climate change. Perhaps most concerning, the range of maple syrup production is projected to shift northward over this century, and some estimating that production will drop by half in the lower range by the end of the century. Despite these trends, production has actually increased for many producers, due to advances in technology, such as vacuum tubes and reverse osmosis boiling systems. 

HHCD’s Chair, Leon Ripley, owns and manages Maple Corner Farm with his wife, Joyce, and their three sons. Maple Corner Farm was founded in 1812 by John Ripley, and is currently managed by the eighth generation. The farm produces maple syrup, blueberries, hay, grass fed beef, and provides cross country skiing and snowshoeing in the winter months. Maple Corner Farm is one of the biggest syrup producers in the Commonwealth, and has a state of the art sugarhouse. Leon agreed that the season is moving earlier, with producers now tapping as early as January, and becoming shorter. However, his production has remained good overall, as the vacuum technology that Maple Corner uses is not as sensitive to climate change as the traditional bucket tap system. 

To read more about the impact of climate change on maple sugaring, click the links below:

UMass Amherst

WBUR - NPR Boston

University of Vermont

Historic photo of Maple Corner Farm

Leon Ripley inside his state of the art boiling house

Healthy soil is an invaluable resource, supporting nutritious and bountiful crops, providing habitat for countless organisms, increasing water holding capacity, mitigating soil erosion and compaction issues, and providing resilience from extreme weather events caused by climate change. In an effort to build soil health on Massachusetts farmland, we launched a Healthy Soils Program last year.

Through the Healthy Soils Program, we provide equipment rentals, technical assistance and conservation planning, soil analysis, no-till mentorships for farmers, and public outreach. Matthew Karas, HHCD's Conservation Program Manager, is available to conduct in-field soil health assessments (IFSHA), collect and process soil samples, deliver or ship them to the labs, and help interpret the results. 

The Healthy Soils Program was made possible by a grant from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA). With this grant, we purchased an Esch 5605 No-Till seed drill, which allows farmers to sow cover crops and pasture land without disturbing the soil ecology, and a BCS walk-behind tractor, suited for “market-garden” scale farms, high-tunnel production, and urban farmers, with three attachments designed to reduce tillage and mitigate compaction. If funding allows, we plan to add more equipment to our rental program this year. 

In developing our program, we were fortunate to receive guidance from the Cheshire County Conservation District (CCCD), in New Hampshire. CCCD began their equipment program in 2011 with a no-till seeder, and today offer twelve pieces of equipment, including a wood ash/lime spreader, two Esch no-till seed drills, an aerator, soil steamer, no-till transplanter, and more. CCCD has had 334 rentals since 2016, and the equipment has been used on over 4,000 acres since 2019. They have gradually and patiently grown their program over the course of many years, to become the gold standard in the region.

CCCD is very generous in offering their time and knowledge to other District’s, like us! We had numerous conversations & visits with Amanda Littleton, the District Manager of CCCD, while we developed our program - to which we are deeply grateful! 

Are you interested in renting our equipment? Visit our equipment rental page.

You may also contact our Conservation Program Manager with questions, or to offer suggestions for equipment we should add. 



Matthew Karas

MatthewHHCD@gmail.com

(413) 362-4720

HHCD hosted an event at Simple Gifts farm for CISA’s Climate Change and Action Week, with farmers Jeremy Barker Plotkin and Dave Tepfer explaining their no-till systems.

HHCD joined CISA, BCD, and UMass, to host a "Perennial Living Mulch" workshop at Sawyer Farm, with farmer Lincoln Fishman, who has been experimenting with planting crops into a living mulch of Dutch White clover for several seasons.

This spring, HHCD launched a Native Plant Program to educate community members on the benefits of native plants and pollinator gardens, and provide resources to convert lawns into beneficial habitat. To kick off the program, three guest speakers gave presentations at the Hadley Public Library and the Storr’s Public Library. 

Author Owen Wormser, a local native plant expert, landscape designer, and author of the book “Lawns Into Meadows”, presented methods for converting lawns into pollinator supporting spaces. Jocelyn Demuth, owner of Checkerspot Farm in Colrain, taught about beneficial insects and pollinators, and the basics of using native plants to attract a diversity of life. Tom Sullivan shared strategies to invite pollinators, while allowing ample space for human activity. 

Native plants have formed interdependent relationships with pollinating animals over millennia, and, as such, they provide the best habitat and food for pollinators. Sadly, due to pesticides, pollution, habitat loss, and replacement of native plants with industry cultivars, pollinator numbers have declined by 75-80% in many areas! The GOOD NEWS is that by adding native plants back into the landscape, we can begin to reverse the situation. Learn more about the program here.

Date: Saturday, June 29, 2024.

Rain Date: Saturday, July 13

Time: Farm Tour from 9:30 to 11:30. Socializing from 11:30 to 12:30. 

Cost: Free

Location:195 River Rd, Sunderland, MA

In response to extreme weather events, many farmers are experimenting with a range of ‘climate-smart’ practices that increase the diversity, resilience, and adaptability of their operation. Some particularly exciting practices fall under the umbrella of ‘agroforestry’ - a broad term that refers to the intentional integration of forestry with agriculture. 

Agroforestry is not new - It is a traditional practice that was largely forgotten as American farms grew larger, less diverse, and increasingly mechanized. However, agroforestry is primed for a resurgence, and may prove vital in keeping farmers farming into the future. 

Join us for a tour of Big River Chestnuts, where we will learn about agroforestry from Jono Neiger. Big River Chestnuts is a 10-acre diversified alley cropping and silvopasture farm, with a vision to produce commercial quantities of chestnuts while stewarding the land. In addition to chestnuts, Jono grows heartnuts, hazelnuts, and persimmon. A diverse mix of perennial crops grow in between the rows of trees, while livestock forage amongst the lush landscape, adding valuable nutrients while providing light tillage, along with a host of other benefits. 

Please register here.

This winter, I embarked on an exciting two year adventure with a cohort of farmers & service providers, who are researching and implementing strategies to adapt agriculture to our rapidly changing climate. It is called the Climate Adaptation & Mitigation Fellowship, and I am a fellow within the Diversified Agriculture and Agroforestry cohort. The CAMF program was launched in 2019, with a mission of “building communities that support and accelerate agricultural climate adaptation and mitigation”.

As part of the fellowship, each service provider is paired with a farmer, who will work together to develop a climate adaptation farm plan, and an educator, who will be available to offer guidance and resources. I am fortunate to be paired with Lindsay Allen, who runs Fern Hill Farm in Buckland! Fern Hill Farm is an agroforestry based vegetable and chestnut farm, tucked into the hills next to the Clesson Brook, on the historic Robert Strong Woodward homesite. Lindsay farms three acres using regenerative practices that demonstrate resilient ways to grow food in the face of the climate crisis. The produce goes to feed the local community, with special effort put towards feeding low-income and low-access families who experience barriers to accessing fresh, local food.

The CAMF program began with a series of nine presentations and workshops that ended in March. For the next year and a half, I will be working with Lindsay to conduct a risk-assessment of the farm, develop a climate adaptation and mitigation plan & budget that assesses the financial viability of different strategies, and conduct outreach. The program concludes with a closing workshop where the fellows will reflect on the program and share what they have learned with one another. 

I will continue to provide updates on the fellowship and all the cool stuff that I am learning throughout the program. Stay tuned!

Speaking of climate adaptation, have you heard about Pasa's Climate Smart Farming & Marketing program? Through this new program, you can access USDA funding to support a variety of practices such as reduced tillage, nutrient management, agroforestry, cover cropping, and so much more. The application process is quicker and easier than the standard NRCS process, and farmers can receive 100% of the funding for practices, including money up-front!

Learn more: https://climatesmart.org/

The Hampden-Hampshire Conservation District is seeking to add

new District Supervisors in 2024.

Why you should join us:

• Take an active role to identify conservation needs and guide projects that improve environmental health in your community.
• Connect with other farmers and learn about opportunities available to farmers and landowners.
• Learn about and work with our partner organizations that are driving sustainable agriculture and conservation issues in the Pioneer Valley.
• Great resume builder for folks who are looking to pursue a career in conservation.

CLICK HERE to learn more

Contact us at hampdenhampshireconservation@gmail.com for more information.

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation so we can continue to provide community members with technical and financial assistance, educational programs, and community engagement.

Thank you for supporting our work to conserve the natural resources of Hampden and Hampshire counties! We are able to maintain our work conserving natural resources due to generous community donors like you!