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| The WMREC Flerd |
Throughout my college classes and internship with UME, I have seen many flaws in agriculture. I say "flaws" referring to the system that is unsustainable environmentally in favor of profitability. I would want to see agriculture sustainable regarding all 3 pillars and, ideally, a world concerned more with the environmental and social pillars than the economic one. At the local level, my version of ideal agriculture would be a driving force in unison, not between government and farmers (subsidies), but between farmers and the communities they serve. The Agrarian belief that agriculture must be separate from industry stands out as a key to human progress. The first agricultural developments weren’t driven by a desire for profit or greed. Rather they were made to create a more stable, safe place for former nomads to live. This also ties into how I would want to see agriculture on a global scale, as a way to sustain our constantly growing population and the world in which we live. Rotational grazing and other practices that utilize natural systems, which have developed through millennia of evolution, provide a way to regenerate the world. Old Agricultural practices, such as the three sisters system of the Native Americans, and newer regenerative practices provide a glimpse into truly “sustainable” agriculture. Agriculture that works in tandem with nature, agriculture that brings people together, agriculture that fights the uncertainty of sustenance, and agriculture that feeds everyone, and protects the world. That is my desired future in agriculture.
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The hottest place at the Rodale institute, the compost yard
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While I have a great, ambitious vision for agriculture, it is just that, a vision. I don’t have a mission statement that will lead to "my" vision, because "my" vision cannot be realized as a part of “my” mission. Through my experiences, I have learned that this vision is not truly mine alone. Countless people before and after me all share a similar vision of agriculture, of an ideal world. These people will also realize, as I have, that without the support of those external to us, the world cannot be changed. Therefore, I won’t claim it to be my mission to create an ideal future for agriculture, rather it is our mission, to feed, sustain, and protect the humanity of past, present, and future. That is the role of a farmer, the role of extension, and the role all of us must play in healing our world.
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Information about the Farming systems trial at Rodale
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While I cannot claim that mission as my own, it is still a part of my mission to explore, learn, and realize my personal vision of self-discovery. Studying abroad has always interested me and is one of those things I should just go do as part of my mission mentioned earlier. My interest in the idea peaked after hearing about my mentor, Nathan Glenn, experience working with Agricole in Liberia. Hearing about how different agriculture in Africa has struck a chord with me. While their practices appear outdated, inefficient, and almost primitive, they still work. Hearing about this makes me wonder what other agricultural practices exist in the world, what possibilities are yet to be explored, and what potentially new ideas may help create a truly sustainable form of agriculture.There are probably an infinite number of ways I could’ve worded this better, but I feel like overly reviewing this imperfect line of thought will take away from its interpretation. At the end of the day, this has been a rant about my hopes for the future of agriculture and the role I want to play in its creation.
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