Symposium to review effects of climate change on home gardens, farm profits

By Susan Lang

Winters are getting warmer, and some crops are starting to bloom earlier. Climate change is already upon us, but changes are not uniform across regions or species. The potential impact on farmers is both positive and negative and also has important implications for home gardeners and landscape managers.

To review the evidence of climate change in the Northeast and to discuss adaptation strategies for the potential impact on farming, gardens and the dairy industry, researchers, extension educators and interested citizens will gather for a one-day symposium, "Climate Change and Northeast Agriculture: Developing an Education Outreach Agenda," scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 17, at the Ramada Inn in Ithaca. The symposium costs $10 and is open to the public.

"The most recent report of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that climate change is here but that its effects will vary from region to region and from species to species," said David Wolfe, Cornell professor of horticulture and one of the symposium's organizers.

The speakers include: climatologists Art Degaetano of Cornell and Cameron Wake of the Climate Change Research Center at the University of New Hampshire discussing greenhouse gases and climate change in the Northeast; plant physiologist Lewis Ziska of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, discussing weed ecology and global climate; Wolfe giving an impact assessment for Northeast agriculture and farmer adaptation strategies; Cornell crop and soil scientist Jenifer Wightman covering energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration in terms of a New York dairy case study; Timothy Volk of SUNY-Environmental Science and Forestry talking about biomass fuels and other opportunities for farmers in the energy marketplace; and Vern Grubinger, director of the Center for Sustainable Agriculture at the University of Vermont, talking about how to incorporate climate change issues into extension programs.

The symposium is sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension. To register, contact Joan Lewis at JL154@cornell.edu or call 255-2118.