PHILLIPSTON — U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern visited nine farms Friday in the sprawling 2nd District, which stretches from the Vermont and New Hampshire borders in the north to those of Connecticut and Rhode Island in the south. The Worcester Democrat said the purpose of the tour was to highlight the effects of climate change on agriculture in the Bay State.
“I’m on the Agriculture Committee,” McGovern told the Athol Daily News, “and I represent a district that has close to 2,000 farms in it, so I do these farm tours annually to learn about what some of the challenges are, what state and federal programs are helpful, and where we need improvement.”
“I’m also out here today,” he said, “to talk about the impact of climate change on local farms. I noticed the nice wind turbine they have here and the solar panels. This is a farm that is very conscious of the environment and having a sustainable operation that doesn’t add to our carbon footprint.”
The ADN asked, in the wake of the first of two Democratic presidential debates Tuesday night, which candidate he thinks is best addressing the issue of climate change.
“I think they all are,” he said, “which is a great thing. Look, I’m supporting Elizabeth Warren … but they all are. I think it’s a hopeful sign that we’re moving in the direction where we might actually do something to combat climate change. Unfortunately, President Trump doesn’t believe it’s real, but the extreme weather patterns that we’ve all been experiencing, and what scientists are telling us — I mean, we have glaciers the size of Manhattan breaking off of Antarctica — well, it’s certainly real. Sea levels are rising. Species are becoming extinct. We certainly can’t support politicians who put their head in the sand. It’s affecting our health, our well-being and our economy. If we fail to act, we’re giving our kids and grandkids a terrible world to inherit.”
“Sometimes the farmers I visit,” McGovern said, “they don’t always say ‘climate change,’ but they say something’s happening with the climate that we need to pay attention to. But they are totally dedicated to the environment. You can see that by the way this farm is powered. Farmers are our best environmentalists.”
Red Apple Farm owner Al Rose said climate change has had a definite impact on how well his apples and other crops grow, as well as affecting decisions on exactly what kinds of crops to grow.
“We’ve tried to diversify here,” Rose said. “That’s the nature of the game. We did get hail here at the end of June; first time I’ve ever had hail. It was pretty bad in some areas. We really got clobbered. That, again, is another aspect of global warming. We’re getting a lot of drastic weather.”
McGovern also discussed Tuesday’s news that U.S. Agriculture Secretary George “Sonny” Purdue plans to tighten eligibility requirements for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, better known as food stamps. It’s estimated 3.1 million Americans would lose benefits, some 90,000 of them in Massachusetts.
“SNAP enables a lot of people who are struggling to be able to purchase apples, fruits and vegetables, and meats that are grown and raised on our farms,” said McGovern. “We have a program now where you can use your SNAP benefits at farmers markets. That’s certainly helped our local farmers.”
“Look,” he said, “what Secretary Purdue is proposing is a rotten thing to do to people who are struggling. The majority of people on SNAP who are able to work, work.”
McGovern noted that when Purdue appeared before the Agriculture Committee, he indicated there were no plans to make changes in the food stamp program.
In addition to Red Apple Farm, McGovern visited farms in Rutland, Paxton, Upton, Westborough, Belchertown, Amherst, West Whately and Greenfield.