Description

We have lived in Vermont for 40 years. First in the Green Mountains, near Plymouth and then in 1976 we purchased a farm in the Champlain Valley just south of Middlebury - first as a dairy farm then in 1987 we started growing turkeys that includes processng (a slaughter plant) and marketing and presently grow 27,000. We also sell hay. We own 1000 acres, that includes 190 acres of flood plain along the Otter Creek. Our farm contains woods, creeks, pasture, cropland and wetlands. This helps give you an idea of the setting for our observations.

One of the big things we have noticed is that our climate here in the valley has definitely gotten milder. Milder winters. We haven't seen much below zero weather or not even 20 below in years. More rainy days in winter. Milder springs. The last frost comes the end of April or beginning of May rather than around the middle of May. Milder falls. Frost now comes end of Sept or beginning of Oct. rather than beginning of Sept. Warmer summers. Longer periods of days in upper 80's and 90's. More humidity and haze and/or smog. More days that we can't see the mountains from our farm and more days we can swim without freezing.

I am going to list observations we have made over the years of things we have seen we feel is due to the milder climate. 1. When we first moved here the Northern Red Oak was a puny little tree that grew very slowly or died. In the past 20 yrs. we have seen a significant increase in yearly growth and have even been able to log off some. This has to be due to a milder climate. They don't like extreme cold. 2. The climate generally seem to be wetter from our observations farming along Otter Creek. We have given up farming there because there has been an increase in flooding in the spring and fall and sometimes even in the summer making it extremely hard to plant and harvest a crop. We are in the process of turning this land back over to nature through a conservation program and letting nature do its thing. 3. We have seen an increase in ticks, Japanese Beetles, and the turkey vulture. In the early years we never saw turkey vultures. And we have more Canada Geese hanging around longer or a few even through the winter.
4. The milder climate has given us a longer growing season which is nice but it is often offset by the wetter climate with bigger storms thus not really making farming any easier. The bigger storms are terrible on crops and the land and of course cause more flash floods and wind damage. Also hot and wet can cause more diseases and insect pests. 5. The milder climate reduces our heating cost in winter, but the hot summers bring on more air conditioning which has defitnitly increased in Vermont. I can remember when practically nothing was air conditioned. Rarely did it get to hot in our farm house. While we personally still don't air condition we definitely use more fans. So less cost heatng in winter - but more cost cooling off in summer if one air conditions.

While up here in the Northeast the milder climate often seems really great - for me especially since I don't like the cold - it is not a good thing.

Our milder temperatures means that elsewhere it has gotten even hotter - look at last summer. In the long run everyone will lose.
- Frances Stone, I am a semi retired self employed farmer and always an educator - teacher