Ken Ayars speaks at Portsmouth's Brown House

Ken Ayars, Chief of the RI DEM Division of Agriculture came to Portsmouth today with a message about the importance of local food and preserving local farms.

"The average food on your table travels 1,500 miles from production to consumption," said Ayars. Which is fine, as long as everything works, but with threats from peak oil, farmland shrinkage, and population growth looming, said Ayars, the time to plan is now. "There has to be a backdrop for how you deal with [local decisions] and it needs to be forward looking and deal with the future of sustainability."

The informal talk, organized by Conni Harding of Preserve Portsmouth, was held on the front porch of the Brown House at the Glen, and despite notes of urgency in the message, felt like nothing so much as a neighborly chat, the kind you might have had a hundred years ago over a glass of lemonade. Town Councilors Karen Gleason, Keith Hamilton, and Jim Seveney were on hand, as were a couple of the candidates. And although many of the battles in this area are played out at the Planning or Zoning Boards, Ayars stressed that the fundamental questions are ones of policy.

"Portsmouth's comprehensive plan is outdated in terms of farming, " said Ayars, noting the enormous changes in farm economics, including shifts from wholesale to direct retail and 'transformative' activities like winemaking, spinning, and food processing, all of which have become vital for survival. "The comp plan is reflective of agriculture 20 years ago."

The issues which come up — the Alpaca farm and the winery were both mentioned — should not be approached as one-off cases, said Ayars. "You've got to figure it out because you're operating in a vacuum. There has to be a balance there."

Ed. note: Speaking of the comp plan, Portsmouth's Zoning Board is taking up the petition by Greenvale Farm to use their winery for weddings and other functions tomorrow night, 7pm at Town Hall. If you have a strong point of view, this is probably the meeting you want to go to. (After you stop by Green Valley to meet the candidates, of course.)

For agriculture in RI to be successful, Ayars said, it needs to be local. "What makes it work is direct connection betwen the buyer and the seller," he said, citing examples of Rhody Fresh and Rhody Warm. "These are high-value crops where the bulk of the money goes to the farmer."

And this isn't just some feel-good idea about saving local farms. It's actually a security issue that has been studied by scientists from Raytheon, Ayars said. Precarious supply chains dependent on foreign oil to move products present quantifiable risks. "A healthy society is our best defense," said Ayars, who noted that Portsmouth, with the largest areas of farm land on Aquidneck Island, has a big responsibility.

He urged Portsmouth to look at the larger issues of agriculture and sustainability and see how they drill down to the local level. "You have a huge role to play in the future of this island."

Full disclosure: I am a long-time supporter of Preserve Portsmouth, and I like farms.