VIDEOS EXPLORING SOME OF THE IMPORTANT TOPICS FACING FARMERS

CONTROL PESTS ON YOUR FARM!

Do you have trouble with starlings and rodents on your farm? Ever consider raptors as a means of pest control? Watch this great video to see the benefits of using natural predators to control pests.

This video explains a variety of attempts to encourage natural predators as biocontrol for pest birds and rodents in agriculture, particularly dairies. 3 minutes. This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA under award number FW14-012 Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (WSARE). Opinions expressed are those of the researchers.

Presenter: Dave Timmer, A Rocha USA
Executive producers: John and Karen Steensma, Steensma Dairy
Directed and produced by Jayson Korthuis, Guardian Media
Thanks to Ellie Steensma and Ben Steensma; Brad Felger, Airstrike Bird Control; Susan Kerr, WSU Extension; Jewel TerWisscha and Ann Appel, Whatcom Family Farmers.

Please direct inquiries for further information to jewelt@whatcomfamilyfarmers.org .

NEW STUDY: WHERE IS THE BACTERIA CONTAMINATION IN WHATCOM COUNTY COMING FROM?

Some still want to blame dairy farmers. They say the Portage Bay shellfish bed closures are due to fecal coliform contamination from our declining dairy farms. This new presentation takes a close look at the numerous water quality studies in the Nooksack watershed. What we found may surprise you. What is clear is that it will take our whole community–and beyond–to seriously address the bacteria contamination affecting our friends and neighbors of the Lummi Nation. Fortunately, many good things are happening.

DO FARMERS CARE ABOUT WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT?

Twin Brook Creamery’s Larry Stap explains a few of the many measures taken by this farm to help protect our water, streams, habitat, the land and our environment.
Removing an at-risk manure lagoon. Putting in riparian vegetation to protect streams. Protecting nesting sites. Working with scientists to study runoff from fields. These are just a few of the ways Larry and other farmers are working to protect our environment. But, what do we do about contamination over which we have no control?