By Mara Hoplamazian
On a hot July day at Fresh Start Farms in Concord, New Hampshire, the kale, swiss chard, African eggplant and amaranth were growing strong.
“It’s very obvious to see how things are performing,” said Anthony Munene, project manager for the New American Sustainable Agriculture Project, which has farms across New Hampshire.
The organization helps set up people who arrive as immigrants or refugees with training and land to start as farmers.
Munene says the vegetables are performing well because of some new practices at this site, the organization’s newest property.
It’s a climate-smart demonstration farm, where farmers are implementing a variety of practices to manage the increasing threats from climate change.
Across the region, heavy rains have caused massive damage for farmers this summer. Problems from heat, pests, and drought are common. But farmers in the region are changing some of their practices to become more resilient. And they're getting help from state and federal programs to try these new techniques.
Munene has been with the New American Sustainable Agriculture Project for more than eight years, and he’s seen the effects of climate change.
“It’s either too hot, or too much rain,” he said. “This year it's raining.”
One of the changes Fresh Start implemented was planting cover crops. These crops get planted outside of the usual growing season to keep the soil healthy and prevent erosion.
Soil and water, Munene said, are the two core tenets of climate-smart farming.
“If you’re able to have good soil, which has enough organic matter, then it can keep, and also release water, quick,” he said.
Munene’s team also built high tunnels — big half-moon-shaped structures that work like a kind of greenhouse — with solar panels on top. Gutters on the roof of the high tunnels collect rainwater and funnel it into big barrels, which are used for irrigation.
The farm has also implemented new weed management practices, using fabric that helps protect plants from weeds and pests. And they’ve planted 2,000 pollinator plants — colorful flowers that surround the vegetables.
Munene said another big help is the kinds of crops farmers are growing, like amaranth and nightshade plants.
“They are growing very hearty ethnic crops which don't get affected a lot by too much rain,” he said. “Lettuce and tomatoes are rotting, but they are not growing it.”
Munene’s team got help from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That agency works with farmers to develop conservation plans, and can provide financial assistance for practices that lead to better soil health and other environmental benefits.
Rebekah Lauster, the acting state conservationist for the NRCS in New Hampshire, says they have two main programs — the Environmental Quality Incentives program and the Conservation Stewardship Program. Both allow farmers to connect with federal resources locally.
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