Hypothetically Speaking
Originally published in Lancaster Farming by The Grass Whisperer
It was January 2008 when I attended a meeting with legislators in Albany to inform them on the importance of managed grazing systems for our New York Watersheds and beyond. After the meeting, I cleared the traffic congestion from the mighty hub of our capitol and turned my attention to an hour and a half’s journey home along the thruway, west. My time on the road reflecting what I said or what I should have said about grasslands protecting our topsoil had my mind in a tailspin. About the same time as I was trying to come up with a catchy sound bite for substantiating grazing, my attention veered over to the half empty canal system. There it was, as plain as day, buried under the water like a tomb, the reason for my passion about pastures.
As I passed stream outlet after outlet that emptied into the adjacent Mohawk River, I was stymied by the amount of sediment filling up the watershed. So much so, at one point I had to pull over and grab a few snapshots. Holy cow! That’s our future New Yorker’s food security medium washing away. Guilt is the only emotion I could muster being paralyzed by what I saw close up. Guilt that I am a generation charged with protecting my children’s soil and failing somehow. I looked upstream, but the evidence of the tragedy was gone. Nothing more than a meandering brook covered by a jungle of now brown fallow vegetation. Whether it was caused by a natural occurrence, construction sites or farming practices is anyone’s guess. My now heightened awareness drew me to the conclusion that no longer do we see clouds of earth blanketing our nation’s capitol, but quietly, oh so quietly, the particles of our being and sustainability are suspended in the water destined for the streams and oceans, never to return to were it came from. My appreciation and affirmation of grass farming took on new meaning as I pulled into my yard were the cows were grazing stockpiled pasture. You see our farmstead just happens to empty into Oriskany Creek that eventually finds its way to the mighty Mohawk River. Can you say D`ejavu!
Today I traveled back to the Capitol on the same thruway to hear the recommendations of the NYS Food Policy Council. I got an eerie feeling as I looked over at a now, full river covering up all the tons of ghost ship particles. And then my mind started to wonder again as “Green Grass and High Tides” came on the radio, as I looked over at state employees using expensive fuel and equipment to mow grass along this corridor of opportunity. Hypothetically speaking, the entire thruway encompasses some 6000 acres of “right of way” grasslands that need to be maintained. Why not let the grass grow tall for biofuel or better yet have it mowed by managed grazing animal employees.
They say cellulosic ethanol is going to be the next boon, so why not think about a one pass, natural fuel harvest starting in Buffalo and finishing up in New York City, creating some green collar jobs along the way. Besides, if I happen to stray off the road, landing in a 4 foot sward of biomass might be gentler on a vehicle and its occupants. I wonder if we could also garner some cap and trade dollars and use them to lessen the thruway tolls. Could this idea include other roadways and other states? I know, I know, I’m out there.
My favorite “out of mind” concept is replacing iron, with mowing machines that can reproduce, grow food, and fiber while fertilizing. Place signage that indicates mowing ahead and set up the work zone according to DOT standards. Fence the work zone with electric netting and bring in the portable facilities and happy employees to work the area for 8 to 10 hours and then bring them back to a designated staging area for the night, much like construction crews. For me, sheep, goats and pastured poultry would be the employees of choice because of their size and grazing behavior. The grazing manager or state Shepard would keep the crew moving leaving the proper residual for maximum re-growth for the potential fuel source to prosper. At the end of the season, each rest stop could feature thruway produced grass-fed meats, wool mittens and grass pellets that heat the facility. Sound Futuristic or absolutely nuts? Yep, everyone thinks I have totally lost it this time.
The timing of these wayward thoughts coincide strangely with the Council’s difficult task of pursuing a policy that will bring food to all New Yorkers in an equitable and nutritious way while balancing a small farm population and having soil drifting away right under our noses. It seems to me like its almost surreal . We will need a serious change in mindset and action that borders on going bonkers, like I have done. Hearing from the leaders on our dire food situation and the needs (funding) of programs that feed our children, grandparents and “food insecure” citizens was totally overwhelming for me, as a farmer. Me asking for a few resources to perpetuate a grass-based system seemed silly in the face of so many challenges. How did we get to this point and how do we move forward? This question will continue to haunt many of us that are trying in vain to change our food system in the face of profound scrutiny.
My trip home after the meeting was again different from the last. Happy to have contributed to the discussion of our family’s future in the food system and meeting new friends and allies on the quest for real answers. My eyelids were heavy as I passed the outlets this time. My attention was caught up with, why my 6 dollar salad served at the Capitol was not from New York. Indeed, change is slow, way too slow for me.