I think we all know that the current administration is an abomination and the President of the United States a complete buffoon. His alliance with large corporations, big business, earth-destroyers, and anything that smells of big money is all too obvious. But the rapidity with which he has been dismantling the environmental protections of this land is truly mind-altering – and not in a good way.
 
The Failure of Our Government
Most recently the Trump administration suspended the annual USDA honeybee counts which tracks the health of the US honeybee populations so critical to agriculture and crops that require pollination. This move came three weeks after the US EPA – also under the guiding hand of Trump – approved the use of an insecticide (sulfoxaflor) so highly toxic to bees that which, up until now, had only been allowed through the use of exemptions and special permits. And all of this comes after the worst year for bees since 2006. Beekeepers lost nearly 40% of their hives last winter due to colony collapse disorder (CCD). Further, all of this comes after years of mounting concern about the loss of managed honeybee colonies as well as damage to native bee populations due to the use of highly toxic insecticides like neonicotinoids, chlorpyrifos, and now sulfoxaflor. This doesn’t account for all the other toxic materials that are sprayed daily on this country’s orchards and farms, or for the other contributing causes to CCD.
 
That said, bees are the just the tip of the iceberg. The loss of wild biodiversity across the planet is staggering – songbirds, insects, bats, large mammals, aquatic ecosystem – they are all suffering or in severe decline. Hopefully, this is not news to you or any one that’s kept a close eye on issues related to global biodiversity. What’s disconcerting is that although 30 years ago we can be excused for having buried our collective heads In the sand, today there is too much data and good scientific information to ignore; yet we (i.e., most of humanity) march on with complete disdain towards what’s happening in the world around us. Even the organizations that purportedly represent farms and agriculture seem to not care[1]. 
 
Although the NYS legislature recently passed a strong environmental protection bill that included banning the use of chlorpyrifos by 2021, we can’t stop the destruction of nature by focusing on New York’s borders alone. That said, we can start here. At home.
 
Regenerative Farming
For far too long agricultural production has been based on productivity, eschewing healthy environments and biodiversity for yields and profits. Yes, there have been programs supposedly designed to help reduce the environmental aftermath of industrial agriculture. But they now appear to have been too small and too few, and often tilted towards large-scale agriculture corporations. Like our political conundrum, the only real solution is going to be a landscape level revolution. We need to adopt the tenets of a triple bottom-line economy. We need to put environmental health and biodiversity above yields and profits. We need to put the health of our food, water, air, and soil above convenience and shortcuts. We need Regenerative Farmers!
 
Regenerative Farming in all its forms is really the only answer. In order to build our soils, clean the water, and filter the air, we must install wholesale changes to our environmental and farming laws. The organizations that represent farmers (supposedly) must realize that without healthy farmland, farmers will fail eventually. Biodiversity is required to achieve all of these goals and this requires a change in how we generally look at nature. When we truly imbibe its role and respect its place in the farming landscape, and work to protect every remaining scrap of surrounding wild nature, then we’ll be on a path to a regenerative farming future. But we need to start now, today, and force the issue in all ways available to us.
 
Apostrophe Orchard
Apostrophe Orchard was borne of a idea to establish an orchard and then let it be. By starting with a plot of land in a semi-wild state, rein it in just enough so I could plant trees, amend the soil and get the trees off to a good start, then allow the varietal diversity to take over in what I’ve called ‘Benign Neglect’, then we could start to find out where the edges are. I know this was Fukuoka’s ‘Do Nothing’ philosophy, but in a 21^st environment with climate change and other pressures no one’s ever had to deal with, I needed to find out how little I could actually do and still grow healthy trees and raise a crop of apples. This is year 3 of this experiment and – so far, so good. I’ve been amazed at how well the trees have grown and settled in with a relatively little management. Apostrophe will certainly not match the massive outputs of commercial apple orchards, but the hope is that the fruit will be better, orchard healthier, and trees more resilient in the long term.
 
On August 24-25, we’ll be hosting orchard visits as part of the Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute’s 6^th Annual Summer Tour. Stop on by for a tour where we’ll have several demonstrations on what we’re doing and discussions on why. Sunday there’ll even be a workshop on establishing your own orchard using the Benign Neglect approach. Details will be announced soon on the FLPCI Facebook page. Check it out, sign up, and we’ll see you Saturday and/or Sunday.
 
In the meantime, push back and not only buy organic but buy Local. Ask questions and don’t hesitate to call bullshit when someone tells you “not too worry, its EPA approved.”
 
USDA Suspends Honeybee Survey
EPA Approves use of sulfoxaflor
Plummeting Insect Numbers Threaten Nature            
UN Report of Decline of Global Biodiversity

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Potato Leafhoppers on the March
Potato leafhoppers (Empoasca fabae) are one of those insects that shows up in early summer and plagues growers of all types throughout the year. Funny thing is that it doesn’t overwinter here in the northeast. Generally speaking, the first wave of PLH comes in with the first southerly summer storms, riding high in the clouds, lofted high by thermals, where they are picked up from succulent spring vegetation from the deep south the mid-Atlantic. They’re then deposited with heavy rainfall on crops of all sorts where they literally suck the life out of the plants, causing them to wilt and wail (can you hear them?) until they look like disfigured creatures paralleled only by the Quasimodos of the world. They aren’t particularly difficult to kill, but their persistence is unequaled in the insect world, as they are on the march all summer long. With every new storm, there is a new deposition of these light green invaders looking for a feast on your farm. Yay! This season seems to be a particularly favorable one for PLH.
 
Since they can have multiple generations per season once they are around, the damage can persist for a long time and is always disproportionate to their size and population levels. According to the Penn State web site, “Potato leafhopper develops 3 to 4 generations during its residence in its summer range. One important factor that regulates populations is alfalfa harvest. Harvest destroys eggs and nymphs, and sends adults flying. Recolonization of alfalfa regrowth and vegetable crops occurs by invasion of adults from those populations adjacent to alfalfa fields or neighboring alfalfa fields on adjacent farms.”
 
Of all the summer insects that can pester your orchards, this not one to underestimate or fool around with. The damage they can inflict lasts long beyond the current season since the reduced photosynthesis, weakened buds, and distorted tissue means a weaker more stressed tree at the end of the season. And the shape of things in the fall is usually a pretty good indicator of the shape of things the next spring.
 
https://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/potato-leafhopper