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Farmer Stress
Anthony Souffle

Mental health issues cropping up as financial stress continues on farms

“Organic dairy farmer Kevin Stuedemann knows how it feels to be on the verge of calling it quits.

After several producers in his area went out of business, Stuedemann’s milk buyer ended its contract with him on 30 days’ notice because there were no longer enough organic dairies nearby to justify sending a truck. With 70 cows producing milk, no customers and zero income, Stuedemann searched frantically for a new buyer and took an off-farm job to make ends meet…”

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Whitcomb Farm Solar
Whitcomb Farm Solar

Whitcomb Farm Solar

Dairy prices are dropping through the floor, crop farmers are grappling with extreme weather, and farmer and rancher stress is increasing. For some, renewable energy options can mean the farm or ranch can continue as a working and the family can stay intact.

Established several years ago, in conjunction with a conservation easement in partnership with the Vermont Land Trust, the Whitcomb Farm Solar project is an example of land conservation and renewables working together, to keep the farm intact…

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Onlookers At The Charging Station
Donna Linville

Encouraging electric vehicles

Mendocino Land Trust understands that much of its conservation work—and future conservation success—depends on the U.S. reducing its use of fossil fuels. They are doing their part by increasing the number of charging stations in their region, particularly around parks and community lands…

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Birdseye View Fall Harbor

Carbon markets conserve land, reduce climate pollution

Could your land trust do this?

Downeast Lakes Land Trust began evaluating its potential to participate in the carbon market in 2009 and entered a partnership with Finite Carbon in 2010. Finite Carbon Corporation is a forest carbon development company that partners with landowners to create and monetize carbon offsets.

Carbon offsets enabled a small, rural community land trust to conserve a large amount of land, protecting it from fragmentation and conversion to other uses…

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Purple Flowers And Solar Panels
Rob Davis, Center for Pollinators in Energy

A regional land trust works to combat climate change with guidelines for building clean energy

Is your land trust, or community, working to re-think how it might start to proactively site, and promote, clean energy?

Scenic Hudson has developed siting and design principles for renewable energy development to help stakeholders find common ground in a regional model for increased renewable energy development that also protects natural and economic resources:

  • Prioritize development on previously disturbed areas
  • Protect agricultural lands and promote co-location
  • Protect natural beauty protect ecological resources
  • Protect historic and cultural resources
  • Maintain the purpose of conserved lands
  • Avoid and minimize new transmission and distribution lines
  • Use construction and operation best practices
  • Promote sustainable renewable energy development through planning and zoning

Perhaps your land trust or community would find these guidelines helpful.

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Farm Landscape

Michigan farmers, residents, praise wind power

Farmers are committing suicide in record numbers—in the US and around the world. Crop and water disasters are a major part of this, resulting in loss of income, massive debt, and unending despair. For some, “farming energy” with solar and wind, along with more traditional agricultural products, may avoid the unhappy reality of selling for development.

“For those committed to farmland conservation programs, Mills said, wind farms and wind turbines help keep farmers living on their farm lands, help attract and retain younger people, and help provide diversified funding streams…”

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AUSTIN ALLRED
photo courtesy of Austin Allred

This farmer turns manure into clean water and it may be the future of farming

Austin Allred is so devoted to dairy farming that he switched over to it after growing up as a crop farmer. He now runs Royal Dairy, located in central Washington, where cows are a powerful tool in an astonishing process that creates bio-rich soil and clean irrigation water while cutting down greenhouse gases.

That’s because as much as Royal Dairy cares about what goes into the cows, visitors will quickly realize that their operation is equally concerned with what comes out of them…

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Solar Panel Roof View
TNC

Leading by example: Tackling the climate challenge in the Granite State

How you frame the importance of renewables is critical. You don't have a lot of time to capture someone's attention. Some studies say 30 seconds or less.That means helping people connect the dots as to why renewables are so important to our conservation success is going to be needed, and needed often...

Rather than talk about fighting solar and wind, consider linking them to the positive impact needed and how climate change, left unchecked, will destroy much of what we are working to conserve. Talk about balance and the need to think about conservation and renewables with new eyes. Here’s a good example…

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Prius At The Charging Station

Land Trusts installing EV Charging Stations

Mendocino Land Trust has been partnering with California State Parks and the Mendocino Council of Governments to bring electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to the public at local trail and park destinations.

California State Parks is responding to the increasing challenges of climate change with the installation of EV charging stations as part of their “Cool Parks” initiative.

“Our donors and supporters are saying what a great opportunity this grant represents for the local community and visitors to the Mendocino Coast…”

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Post Fire Destruction
AFP

Finance Minister: Chile’s Forest Fires Will Cost Government $333M

Chile’s massive forest fires that have killed 11 people and destroyed nearly 1,500 homes will cost the government $333 million, Finance Minister Rodrigo Valdes told reporters on Friday.

The government will reallocate $100 million from the current budget to mitigate the effects of the blazes, while another $233 million will be taken out of a rainy day fund that the government maintains for such situations, Valdes said at a press conference.

“Those are the costs that the state will have to assume in the preliminary estimate that we’re doing,” Valdes said. “That situation can change when we have more information, and it will depend on how the wildfires evolve.”

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