Cliff Ruth, Growing Agriculture Sustainably

Partial Transcript: Cliff explains that although Western NC has the most pristine water in the state. But because our farmlands are often narrow strips between small streams and mountainsides, we have problems with sedimentation. Often farmlands are too close to the water and crop tools end up in the water. The co-op is “trying to help farmers develop management strategies that they can get the most money out of their piece of land yet protect the water quality.”
Another problem is development on slopes, which causes erosion. The majority of the sedimentation we see in streams and rivers is from development: improperly built roads, buildings, and development around them. Part of his job is to educate the public and his clients about ways to keep sediment out of the streams.

Keywords: farmland; water preservation; Western NC

Subjects: Water quality

Partial Transcript: Cliff explains that our farmers used to plant more diverse crops, partly because they wanted diverse food to eat before we had groceries. Varieties of vegetables, fruits, and grains create polyculture which is a natural deterrent to pests. Monoculture is a problem because pests become resistant to the pesticides. When farmers use pesticides incorrectly they may be affecting the chemistry of the soil. The Co-op encourages crop cycling, polyculture, and diversity especially working with organic farmers.

Keywords: monoculture; organic farming; pesticides; polyculture

Subjects: crop cycling; pesticides; Monoculture

Partial Transcript: Cliff explains planting crops at the right season makes them less susceptible to pests. He encourages landscapers and nurseries to choose the “right plant in the right place” because insects and diseases attack stressed plants, the same as they do in human health. People get weak and then pathogens attack and we put plants into stress when we put them in monocultures.

Keywords: monoculture; polyculture; diversity

Subjects: The right plant for the right place

Partial Transcript: Cliff explains how plants in monocultures have economic benefits, big orchards or tomato or corn fields, but we deliberately put plants in stress so they produce. He explains that it will be difficult to change this quickly because our economy and lifestyle rely on it and we need to work on that to see change.

Keywords: economic benefits

Subjects: Economic Drivers of Monoculture Planting

Partial Transcript: Cliff explains that we need education to explain that there are ways to preserve and protect the land for our future, not because it’s a law or restriction but because “stewardship is a good thing.” Education will succeed where mandates that don’t understand the culture will not. Cliff sees people use best practices for water quality who understand that this is stewardship, protecting the resources and passing them on to future generations. “A steward is not somebody to put money in the bank and lets it sit there. A steward invests.” The co-op’s role is to help growers understand that stewardship of the land makes their land a better investment.

Keywords: cultural changes; preservation; stewardship

Subjects: Land Management

Partial Transcript: Cliff explains the details of the steps that growers and nurseries take to reduce runoff into streams: buffers, and smart sprayers that shut off when not needed. Traditional farmers need to understand buffers such as wildlife habitats might look messy but they protect crops from pests and are useful. It requires a mindset change for farmers.

Keywords: buffers; smart sprayers; best practices

Subjects: Non-traditional best practices

Partial Transcript: Cliff explains the new local food initiatives and how they deliberately cross all disciplines. They deliberately use the ag agents (traditionally working with farmers), SCS agents (health and nutrition and kitchen), and 4H agents (youth) because “everybody eats.” They are teaching how to plant, shop, cook, prepare and eat, local foods. This includes proper labeling to avoid spreading any bacteria or other problems.

Keywords: 4H; farm-to-fork; farm-to-school

Subjects: New Initiatives from Coop Extension and NC State

Partial Transcript: Cliff explains how the Coop Extension promotes local foods. The concept of local foods has advantages, even though it’s not always easier. Growers today are proud to make it known that they grow food for local stores. The produce tailgate market segment is growing.

Keywords: King Street market; local foods; tailgate markets

Subjects: Local affordable food

Partial Transcript: Cliff explains the advantages of using local foods (improved water quality and less runoff and pollutants; less synthetic chemicals being used due to diversity and smaller plots; fewer fossil fuels being used to ship them;) People are learning to think locally and get acquainted with the supplier, they communicate with the farmer that they expect the farmer to be environmentally sensitive, and that’s part of the mantra of the local farmer.

Keywords: environmental issues; fossil fuels

Subjects: Local Foods Impact on the environment

Partial Transcript: Cliff explains that it’s easier to buy at the traditional grocery than to seek out local foods. But it’s gradually becoming more positive and tailgate markets are growing.

Keywords: King Street market; tailgate markets

Subjects: Challenges of Buying Local

Partial Transcript: Cliff explains some options they use to work with landscapers and homeowners in urban areas to capture runoff as a means of protecting water. Examples such as using rain guards from roofs or bio-retention areas, reducing water use, and choosing the right plants. “We’ve got to realize water quality is everybody’s business.”

Keywords: bioretention; water quality

Subjects: Water Conservation

Partial Transcript: Cliff explains some of the BMPs (Best Management Practices) used in farming, landscaping, nurseries, and development.
Integrated pest management (IPM) is the oldest water-quality BMP. “The best BMP for dealing with pests is not getting out the sprayer and mixing up some kind of pesticide.” Start with scouting to look at acceptable thresholds in controlling pests at a particular site. Pests include insects, mites, rodents, weeds, fungi, and bacteria. Pests are defined as anything that damages the aesthetic, economic, or environmental value of the land.
Scouting practice identifies the pest in the area, its life stage, and whether or not it’s the proper time to spray, or use other tools (mechanical practices, exclusion, manual extraction), or use synthetic chemicals. Sometimes synthetic is the best option compared to organic, which can damage the environment. Hopefully, we capture the pest problem early enough to avoid spraying.

Keywords: organics; synthetics; scouting

Subjects: Best Management Practices

Partial Transcript: Cliff explains the BMP of erosion control, including silt fencing or devices (strip farming, buffers, alternative crops in the winter to fill bare land.) Installing correct grass, fencing, and mulch to reduce erosion. Researchers are developing biodegradable tools for spraying on highways and soils around highways where traditional planting practices can’t work.

Keywords: buffers; erosion control

Subjects: prevention of sedimentation; Erosion Control

Partial Transcript: Cliff explains how bioretention is good for homeowners in the form of a rain garden or on roadbeds. “Rain gardens are a unique but not new concept. They are an old concept that’s come back into play.” They are good for small residential sites or larger sites like parking lots or rooftops. They capture runoff. Choose adaptable plants tolerant of wet or dry conditions and properly mulch them. Water soaks in instead of running into a ditch and polluting streams. The rain garden helps recharge our aquifers. The right plants can filter water and capture pollutants and change their chemistry.

Keywords: rain gardens; bioretention,

Subjects: Rain Gardens; Bioretention

Partial Transcript: Cliff shows a rain garden used for rooftops and parking lots. This example has attractive, diverse, and colorful plants, which he names in the discussion. These plants capture pollutants out of the water. This rain garden is attached to their Extension office. Cliff explains the connections from the downspouts and how it drains into the stone barrier designed to capture maximum water to prevent runoff. The underdrain in this example also helps it filter and capture more water than a traditional rain garden. In addition, the plants are all native which will help prevent the spread of invasive species.

Keywords: native plants; rain garden

Subjects: Sample Rain Garden

Partial Transcript: Cliff is in upper Edneyville (Fruitland on old Clear Creek Road) at Linda’s Plants with her son Joel. He provides the history of the nursery and how this nursery was laid out to protect the water quality. He explains the process of grading the land so the pipes from nearby houses were designed to drain into to constructed wetland. This is not a typical design; typically, they would have sloped everything directly toward the stream. The owner worked with Cliff to get a grant to do this right from the start, rather than retrofit, to protect the water.

Keywords: Edneyville; Fruitland; constructed wetland; Linda’s Plants

Subjects: Constructed Wetland at Linda’s Plants in Edneyville

Partial Transcript: Cliff explains how the water at the constructed wetland runs into the ditch and how the bioretention plants selected (such as iris) prevent extra nitrogen and phosphorous from flowing into the stream and causing pollution. This is different from a typical nursery setting where nutrients would be lost and runoff might cause pollution.

Keywords: bioretention; phosphorous; nitrogen

Subjects: Bioretention Plants

Partial Transcript: Cliff explains how they choose plants for nutrient retention and size. Elderberry is the tallest tree, at 15 feet. It is used for ornamental purposes and for food or herbal medicine. Button bush also has a root system designed for water and grows quickly. He also explains how the sediment is piped in a way that prevents it from dumping into the stream and how a barrel riser prevents sediment issues.

Keywords: Clear Creek; button bush; elderberry

Subjects: Plants to Preserve Water Quality

Partial Transcript: At Clear Creek, part of the Mud Creek Basin and French Broad, Cliff explains how 2 years prior they realized this might be a trout stream. Two years later Division of Wildlife has declared it a trout fishing stream. He explains what trout need (a stream with small pebbles and places to spawn in shady cool water with woody vegetation) and how they anticipated that this stream would be good for trout.

Keywords: French Broad; Mud Creek Basin; trout fishing stream; Clear Creek

Subjects: Trout Fishing Stream