Surprise visit from 22News!

​March 30th we received a surprise visit from the WWLP TV22 News Team! Tashanea Whitlow and a camera man took a trip out to the farm to interview me along with several other farms who received the ACRE Grant. 

The Agricultural Climate Resiliency & Efficiencies (ACRE) Program is a grant provided by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR), a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) organization that assists farmers with all sorts of environmental challenges and improvements. They also share their knowledge with farmers to help them implement new practices that impact the environment in a positive way. These resources also include grants such as the ACRE program.

FULL INTERVIEW

The ACRE grant was presented to farmers through MDAR to help impact the environment in a positive way by reducing greenhouse gasses through fossil fuels, tillage of the soil, and less inputs such as fertilizers, fuel, and pesticides farms rely on in a more conventional setting.

Farmers were eligible to apply for items like no-till equipment, zone tillers, high residue spring cultivators, and spring systems, along with no-till planters and transplanters, which is what I mainly focused my proposal on. Other eligible items were improving irrigation equipment and systems by making them more efficient and environmentally friendly. Also, implementing solar power pumps for irrigation equipment and other farm related aspects. 

We decided to explore how we could improve our soils for the longevity of the farm. We looked into no-till equipment. With many hours of research and time, and talking with companies, it was clear a no-till planter perfectly fit our operation. It was compatible with our goals of improving our soil, saving, and reducing fossil fuel use, and reducing our carbon footprint. 

Bardwell Farm was awarded $11,900.00 towards a MaterMacc 2 Row Vacuum Precision Planter with no-till options. The planter is perfect for our farm because it is designed to plant and space any sized seed, from as small as a carrot to as large as a pumpkin seed, with only one piece of equipment. This planter also is "vacuum" which means it will plant seeds exactly spaced in rows, in a width row I choose. The best part is that is designed for no-till planting and this is where the grant came into play.

The planter is equipped with heavy duty coulters that cut through biomass on the soil's surface and is able to plant through cover crops without disturbing the soil. We project this will be a five year progression until we are really seeing a substantial difference in soil health, yield, and the health and quality of plants and vegetables produced. As they always say... good things take time!

We are excited to implement this new equipment and feel good knowing we are having a better impact on our environment and producing a higher quality product!

We want to thank WWLP TV22 News and the Daily Hampshire Gazette for taking the time to learn about what farms are doing in the area to help improve our environment and reduce greenhouse gasses. We also want to thank the USDA and MDAR for awarding us this grant and making all of this possible!

Stay tuned as we start to make the switch to a no-till farming season!

Related:

Bardwell Farm GazetteNet ACRE Grant Article
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