The most important way each of us can support biodiversity is also very simple.  It is even enjoyable.  We can support regional agriculture.  We can buy our food from regional farmers.  We can vote for biodiversity with our pocketbooks and our forks.

We are incredibly fortunate.   In our region, agriculture supports biodiversity and environmental quality.  Agriculture in the Hudson Valley, the Catskills, most of upstate New York - is typified by small to mid-size farms that are family-owned and operated.  These small and mid-size farmers are generally good stewards of their land and, by extension, our environment.  There is very little so-called “industrial” production which has come to dominate many Midwestern states, with profound adverse impacts to the environment. 

Some of you know Michael Klemens, a world-class scientist who has studied biodiversity in Africa and other distant places.  More recently he has returned home and created the Metropolitan Conservation Alliance, a program of the Wildlife Conservation Society.  Through MCA, Michael is working to protect biodiversity in our own region. 

Michael has helped us all understand the critical role farmers play.  He has helped us understand that the modest looking pools that appear in the spring are vernal pools that are critical to many amphibians, and that the sometimes scruffy looking farm hedgerows are critical to snakes and birds and many other creatures. 

But the deck is stacked against these smaller farmers.The multi-billion dollar subsidies funded by our tax dollars go to the huge corn, grain, and other commodity producers.  The trade agreements entered into over the past several years have opened our markets to a flood of agricultural products from other countries.  Most are from countries where labor is far cheaper – and where farmers don’t have to be concerned about the environmental impacts of their production methods.

Apples are an excellent example of what results.  New York State produces several varieties of world class apples.  Yet the market for apple juice has been flooded by cheap concentrate from China and the apples in your local supermarket are more likely to be from South Africa than New York. 

It is little wonder that during the final decade of the century, the Hudson Valley lost nearly ½ of its orchards – a trend that has continued and perhaps even accelerated since.

During the last decades of the century, the agriculture and food sector also changed dramatically as a result of the corporate concentration and integration that took place at a staggering rate.  Bill Heffernan, from the University of Missouri, has projected that in the very near future the entire retail food system in the world will be dominated by just five or six firms.  It is likely that only one of them will be American – and that one will be WalMart. 

This concentration and the competition among these mega-firms is one reason that the part of your dollar that is actually received by the farmer has been dropping.  In 1920 it was 44%.  In 1990 – it was 9% and it has continued to drop since.    Just think of that – for every dollar you spend for food in the supermarket – less than a dime goes to the farmer.  Meanwhile, the part of that dollar consumed by marketing was 67% in 1990 and has continued to increase. 

This concentration in the food system has an impact on the landscape and biodiversity.  The farmers who become part of this concentrated system are forced to become as large as possible to seek efficiencies of scale and to scrape every possible inch of productive capacity from their land. 

As Fred Kirschenmann of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture has noted, that means that “Conservation practices, such as riparian buffer strips, shelterbelts and terraces … begin to disappear to make way for the largest possible farm equipment.     …habitat for wildlife and wildlife corridors…give way to miles and miles of continuous cropping.” 

Actually that isn’t likely to happen in the Hudson Valley.  Instead, our farmland is giving way to its final crop – single family houses. And it is easy to see why.  At the same time that milk prices have been at or below the cost of production, the value of land has been escalating sharply. 

As one farmer told us, “Every day people come to my door offering more money that I ever dreamed of, yet I can’t afford to buy braces for my kids.” This is a man who wants to farm, but he has to be able to make a decent living.

A recent study of the Hudson River Valley by the American Farmland Trust concluded:  “Simply put, it is very difficult to maintain a low cash return/low wage industry in a high income/high cost of living environment.” 

In 1987 there were 860 dairy farms in the Valley.  By 1997 there were fewer than 400. This number has continued to decline.  During the same period, the Valley lost 23,000 cattle and horses and 46,000 acres of land that had been devoted to feeding them.  Now not all of this land was lost to development.  Some may have been converted to other production. 

But the trend is clear – there is a shift from the production of low value products – like milk – that require lots of land, to higher value products – like specialty vegetables – that require less land. 

Surprisingly, only about one-half of the farms in the Valley produce food for people.  ¾ of that land is used for dry onions, most of which are exported as a commodity crop.  The remainder is used for sweet corn, pumpkins (you should be envisioning lots of fall family outings and maybe a few pumpkin pies), lettuce and tomatoes.   So, in fact, there isn’t as much food for people produced in the Valley as you might expect.  But a 1989 survey of farmers found that over 70% indicated that if demand increased they would expand production to meet it.  

As part of Glynwood Center’s effort to strengthen the regional food system, we held a series of meetings last year with a wide variety of people in the Valley to discuss what is needed.  Among the key elements cited were:

• greater public understanding of what the Europeans call the “multifunctionality” of agriculture – the fact that small and mid-size farms produce much more than food – they sustain biodiversity, provide scenic settings for our towns and make important contributions to regional economies. 
   

• a recognition by economic development agencies that agriculture is part of the region’s economic future, not just a relic of its past;  And we need local land use and tax policies that encourage rather than discourage farming.
   

• we must recreate much of the infrastructure needed to support local farmers – the slaughterhouses needed by livestock producers; the processing kitchens needed by small fruit producers; the trucking companies and wholesale markets that allow efficient access to markets.

As an organization, Glynwood Center is working with many other organizations and state and local officials and farmers throughout the Valley to try to force changes within the current system.  In many ways, we are seeking to recreate what we began to lose after the Second World War.  I will briefly mention a few:

• Through our Glynwood Grange program, we are helping local officials from across the Valley deepen their understanding of agricultural issues and the actions they and their communities can take to sustain small and midsize farmers.
   

• Through our Keep Farming program, we are making available a series of assessment tools that community residents can use to analyze the economic, environmental and scenic values generated by local farms.  We then help the community evaluate tools and techniques and develop a strategy adapted to their situation.
   

• The results can be immediate and concrete – one farmer who participated in a Keep Farming training program learned about conservation easements and placed one on his farm, stating that he hoped to “lead by example” for the other farmers in his region.

But while Glynwood and our many colleagues in the Valley work to save farming, what can you do? 

1 –recognize the connection between biodiversity and farming in our region.  This is not true in all parts of the country.  It is part of what makes our region special.  But it won’t survive without our conscious support.

2 – Get over the idea that price is the most important factor in choosing food. Food is not fungible.  For example, not all strawberries are alike.  Several years ago a colleague of mine started the first university-based regional food program in the country.   As part of that, he had a group of students trace the strawberries served by school’s food service all the way back to the farmer – so from the dining hall in Arkansas to the farm in California.  He taped the farmer – who held up a large, red perfectly formed strawberry and said – see this – this is fiber, I can ship this all the way across the country and it won’t dent.  Then he held up a lumpy, little thing and said – see this – now this I take home to my family.”

So fresh, local food may cost more, but consider value, not just price.  Consider what you are buying in terms of the healthfulness and taste of the food, as well as the environmental impact of the way in which it was grown. 

3 - Whenever you can, “shorten the food chain” by buying direct at farmers markets or through a community supported agriculture project.  In CSAs, farmers sell shares to a group of consumers who each receive a box of fresh products throughout the growing season.  The food will be fresher and tastier, you can learn how it was produced and the farmer will receive most of your food dollar.  If you don’t know how to find regional producers, visit the Farmtotable.org website, which lists dozens of farmers throughout NYS.

4 - If you want fresh, regional food, don’t be shy - ask for it.  Consumers can have a surprising amount of influence.  Owners and chefs take heed if customers ask where and how the food being served was produced. 

5 – Use your purchasing power.  If you or your organization will be hosting an event, plan your menu to feature fresh local food.  Even hotels and conference centers are beginning to respond to customer demand for regional food.  To learn more about how to work with them, you can visit Glynwood’s website for a copy of this little guide on “using local food at your next event.” 

6 – Support organizations that are working to support regional farmers.  There are many choices:  the Metropolitan Conservation Alliance of the Wildlife Conservation Society, which I mentioned earlier; Just Food, which connects City residents with regional farmers to create community supported agriculture projects; the NYC Greenmarkets, which coordinates many of the farmers markets in the City; land trusts in the Valley that are protecting ag land; and of course Glynwood Center, as we pursue our effort to strengthen the food system in the Valley. 

In closing, let me urge you to vote with your fork. Use your food dollar to support the regional farmers who support biodiversity.  This is one situation in which you can – and should – vote early and often.