by Lex Thomas
On April 24, the Sterling Agricultural Commission sponsored a round-table discussion with current Sterling farmers to explore the state of agriculture and open space in town. Discussion topics included land preservation, agriculture and tourism, the Sterling farmers market, pest and disease management, and developing the next generation of local farmers. The panel, moderated by Bob Nickerson, included Clearview Farm owner Rick Melone; farmer Jim French, who also works with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation coordinating land acquisition; Hannah Miller, manager of the Face of the Farmer project in Sterling; and Mike Pineo, owner of Pineo Family Farm and manager of the Sterling farmers market.
The audience of about 30 people engaged the panel in a lively discussion of the
future of farming in Sterling. The panelists were united in their concerns about sustainability, and the importance of encouraging the community to patronize farmers by shopping locally for food and goods produced by local farmers.
“We need to wake up the community,” said Pineo, adding that growth in the local
customer base would result in a healthier profit margin and more stability for area
farmers. “Until local shoppers are willing to open their wallets, we’re going to struggle.” He explained that while subsidies are available for farmers, they’re Band-Aid solutions.“Subsidies don’t pay the bills,” he said.
Jim French agreed. “What’s the point of trucking strawberries 3,000 miles?” he asked. “The carbon cost is so much higher.”
According to French, the number of farms in Massachusetts is growing, but they’re smaller, which means that farmers need to add value to their products. “It’s not enough anymore to simply produce cider. Now farmers need to think about producing hard cider, too. Instead of just offering goat milk, we need to offer goat cheese and other products.”
French also encouraged farmers to think about land acquisition. “In a 20,000 acre
town, a third of the land is farms, a third is protected land, and a third is undetermined. We need to act quickly and smartly to protect our land base as well as encouraging people to shop locally.”
French cited the fact that although we have the largest forests in the country, Massachusetts imports 97 percent of its forestry products. “We’re trying to reverse that,” he said.
Miller stated that a major role of her organization, Face of the Farmer, is to reach out to people in the community and influence their shopping habits, encouraging them to support local farms and farmers. In response to a question about how technology is likely to change farming, Miller responded that most farm technology is so expensive, that it’s been slow to come into the mainstream for small farms. “Our farms are so small that it’s really not feasible,” she said.
Miller and Melone agreed that tourism plays an important role in local agriculture.
In fact, Melone sees it as the future of farming in Sterling. “Weather is a big factor for farmers in this area,” he said. “We need to do well in good weather by getting as many people on the farm in as short a period of time as possible.”
Panelists also agreed that farmers need to ramp up their efforts to enlist the younger generation and interest them in farming as a career. “One of the biggest hurdles farmers have is aging,” said Melone. “In 2008, the average age of farmers in Sterling was 60. Now in 2018, it’s 70. We need to get younger people involved in farming. Kids need to learn that they’re not removed from their food. So far, we’ve been missing the boat on young people.”