Farming and the environment — a delicate balance

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Matt Bissell and Dawn Mathes: Farming and the environment — a delicate
balance
Santa Cruz Sentinel Staff Report
Article Launched: 04/23/2006 3:00:00 AM PDT

Farming is both a business and a way of life, governed by the laws of
nature, constrained by economic and political realities. Like the
residents of Santa Cruz County, farmers here are a different breed.

Farms in Santa Cruz County are small; the average size is 60 acres.
Much farmland borders wildlife habitat, including sloughs, rivers and
streams. Accordingly, farmers in the county have adapted with nature;
many have incorporated native plants and habit into their farming
operations. Doing so, however, is a risky and delicate balancing act.

A truly sustainable farm balances environmental stewardship with
economic viability. These two components of sustainability —
environmental and economic sustainability — are essential and mutually
dependent. A farmer must steward the natural resources on the farm in
such a way that those resources continue to yield a crop. But, the
farmer must also earn enough revenue from year to year to support the
costs of running the farming business. If both environmental and
economic resources are not intact, the farm is not sustainable.

One of the greatest environmental challenges county farmers face is
the protection of water quality. Agriculture has taken a proactive
approach when it comes to water quality on the Central Coast. They
have teamed up with the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary to
implement farming practices that protect water quality. In comparison,
residential users of septic systems, which contribute nitrogen and
phosphorus, have not implemented a program to improve water quality.
Most recently, the partnership between farmers and the sanctuary was
honored with the governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership
Award — the most prestigious environmental award in California.

When we walk, bike or drive through the Pajaro Valley, we see the work
that farmers are doing to protect water quality. Grasses are planted
throughout our agricultural drainage ditches. These grasses act to
stabilize the banks, as well as prevent sediment and nutrients from
entering into waterways. Native plant hedge rows are planted along
borders of farm fields, incorporating wildlife into daily farming
operations. There is also environmental protection on the farm that
the casual passerby can't see. Farmers are incorporating the latest
university crop research on both irrigation and nutrient efficiency to
reduce water and fertilizer inputs.

But environmental stewardship is not without risk. Perhaps the
greatest risk is the ability of a farmer to sell the crop. Because
food here is grown for the fresh market, important "food safety" rules
apply to ensure the crop is suitable for the dinner table. Strict food
safety rules are in place to ensure our produce is clean and free from
contamination; however, these rules are often in direct conflict with
environmental protection. Most notably, if an auditor finds that a
farm has too much vegetation or habitat, the produce on the fields
will not make it to the market. While native vegetation on the farm
provides important environmental and water-quality benefits, such
practices also incur a substantial economic risk. Farming and the
environment is a tenuous balance, indeed.

Recent polling has shown that the public supports local farmers. All
farmers, organic and conventional, face the same challenges of
incorporating environmental protection into the business of
production; a delicate balance, but farmers are always up to the
challenge.

Matt Bissell is president of the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau. Dawn
Mathes is executive director of the Central Coast Agricultural Water
Quality Coalition.