By Kelly Donaldson, Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Lamonte Garber has brought a wealth of international experience to his position as Senior Agricultural Consultant for CBF. A native Pennsylvanian, he’s been the catalyst for the success of new legislation that will help farmers across the state use practices on their lands that will improve water quality.

Lamonte talked with us about his background and his pride in CBF’s role in passing the Resource Enhancement and Protection Act (REAP).

Q: Where did you grow up and was environmental awareness a part of your childhood?

A: I grew up in Lititz, PA a small town in Lancaster County that is now seeing a lot of growth. Interestingly, Lititz and its adjacent township, Warwick, have made stream restoration a central goal for the community. Residents and officials have rallied around Lititz Run and Santo Domingo Creek by implementing all kinds of stream and riparian improvements. It is inspiring to visit my old stomping grounds and see the creek I used to fish in BETTER shape than when I left.

I’ve been interested in the environment for as long as I can remember. It started out as a strong interest in wildlife - first sea life and then birds. I loved going to Hawk Mountain in Kempton, PA to watch all those hawks ride the thermals.

We camped as a family and this usually involved fishing. My Dad was an Iowa farm boy but he always longed to be on the sea. He would get excited when we’d approach our destinations and start to smell the salty air. I think he was a mariner at heart, but was born in the heartland.

I also specifically remember one TV ad that had a big impact on me. It featured images of trash and dirty rivers followed by a picture of an American Indian with tears in his eyes. One of those things that lodges in your head.

Q: What did you dream about doing as a career?

A: I always assumed I would find work around environmental protection. When asked in 9th grade what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said "forest ranger," picturing myself out in the woods by myself all day. I think I realized over time that I needed more human contact than that.

By the time I reached college, my interests started to blend environment and agriculture. I took a year off from college and lived on a farm in Vermont and I was hooked. I transferred to Penn State’s College of Agriculture and from that point on this has been my focus - trying to find ways for agriculture, nature and people to coexist.

Q: I’ve heard that you studied in Africa. Where were you and what was your experience like?

A: While a student at Penn State, I participated in an exchange program that lead me to study at the University of Nairobi. It was mainly a chance to travel while studying and I was interested in international and agricultural development, so Africa was an obvious choice. I love African music and that drew me in that direction too.

The environment of Kenya was astonishing; savannahs, mountains, ocean, forests, desert. I got lost while hiking in a viper-rich dry forest - but my trusty compass got me out!

People tend to think of safaris and wildlife when they think of Kenya but I found the people even more interesting - very diverse and distinct cultures. Outsiders tend to recognize the Masai people but they’re just one of many. Pennsylvania farmers might be interested to know that Masai mythology has it that God gave all the cattle of the world to them and someday they’ll get them back!

I also traveled to Zaire (now Congo) and hiked up the mountains to see a troupe of mountain gorillas. One of them was sprawled across the trail and as I was leaving she gently reached out and touched my face. What a moment.

Interestingly, it was during my experiences in Africa that I discovered that I really loved the environment of North America and Pennsylvania, and felt this was "my home," much more than before I traveled.

Q: What was your first agriculturally-related job position?

A: My very first job was stocking produce at a local market in Lititz. The store was built on a hill, so every time someone dropped the produce it rolled to the checkout line! They rebuilt the store and this time it’s level.

I drove truck for the wheat harvest (OK, KS, WY, ND) during my first summer home from school. Big sky, beautiful stars, but really, really nothing to do but read and listen to music. A great way to save money is to have absolutely nothing to spend on.

Other farm experiences happened in college. I visited cocoa farms with agronomists in Haiti, as part of a study abroad program at Goshen College At Penn State I got a job as a "student farm manager" at Penn State's Circleville Farm.

I also met a lifelong friend at Penn State--Tim Bowser. He had a germ of an idea that truly blossomed. After attending an organic farming conference at an Atlantic City Casino (yes, you could cut the irony with a knife) he said to me something like “why is it that Pennsylvania has no organization that represents organic farmers and alternative ag?”

He and some friends organized a conference and a steering committee which grew into a thriving statewide organization--the PA Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA). Their winter farming conference is NOT to be missed! He left PASA some years ago and is now about to open a brewpub restaurant just down the street from the PASA office in Millheim, PA.

Q: When did you start working with CBF, in what capacity, and what do you do now?

A: After returning from Kenya in ’87 I saw a small ad about a job opening for an agricultural specialist for CBF. For some reason they gave me the job and I stayed for ten years, full time. Currently, I am working part-time for CBF. I love the work and the REAP initiative has been especially rewarding.

Q: How did you first get involved in the REAP legislation?

A: The idea for the REAP tax credit program began organically. Several CBF staff, myself, and David Hess (past Secretary of PA’s Department of Environmental Protection), were brainstorming around the CBF conference table, trying to determine what would best help farmers improve their farms while cleaning up our waters. Everyone recognized that PA needed more funding for conservation practices, but policymakers weren’t interested in a new government subsidy program. Thus the idea of using tax credits was hatched.

We found some friendly allies in the PA General Assembly, especially Jerry Stern from the Altoona area and Noah Wenger from Lancaster (recently retired). They saw the opportunity here and helped us build support.

The PA Farm Bureau was also key--without them we would not have this program. I have to give them a lot of credit having some faith in what we were trying to do; the history of farm and environmental groups is not one of collaboration. That’s putting it mildly. So as much as I am excited about the program, I feel the way it came about was just as important as the product. I think it represents something we can build on.

Q: Why are you so passionate about the program? What do you hope it will accomplish?

A: REAP is a new approach to agricultural conservation funding. Not only does it bring more dollars to the table to help farmers afford these improvements, it will hopefully bring new participants into the mix. It provides an opportunity for businesses and taxpayers to help fund environmental change on the farm. Tax credits are the vehicle to help facilitate this.

For too long society has looked at agriculture as something farmers do instead of something we all participate in. If you eat food, you have a role in the food system. And our demand for cheap food is part of the problem - we don’t pay farmers to protect the environment, we pay them to produce food in mass quantities, and we don’t pay them very much for doing so. The burgeoning “Buy Fresh Buy Local” movement is in part a recognition that this has to change, that consumers need to support the kind of farming that they want with their pocketbooks. REAP tax credits are hopefully one tool, a bridge, which will help us get to a better place where the market place is actually playing more of a positive role in keeping farmers on the land and the planet healthy.

Q: What was the 'best moment' in the whole process?

A: No question - when a beautiful Holstein cow named “Blessing” and her human caretakers, the Miller family, made their way to the capitol as part of a REAP event. That cow stood there patiently while folks made speeches about REAP. Bringing the farm to Harrisburg felt like the defining moment of our project.

Everyone who was involved all the PA staff, our legislative sponsors and the coalition of supporting groups worked very hard on this campaign. It was a real celebration when word came down that REAP passed.

Q: What's next?

A: Outreach, and a lot of attention to detail to make sure that everyone in the farm community, and conservationists and businesses understand and participate in the REAP program to the extent they're able. Since REAP passed, the staff at the State Conservation Commission have risen to the challenge and just a few week’s ago finished the guidelines for the program. They deserve a lot of credit for getting this program ready for the launch.

We’re doing all we can to help them out.

For more information about the program or for information about attending the educational meetings, contact program administrator Mary Bender at 717-787-8821 or send e-mail to: mabender@state.pa.us , or visit the REAP webpage.

12/21/2007