Week Eight with Extension by Ellie Rogers

Picture 1: Size Comparison of Palmer Amaranth (Holding up a Palmer Amaranth plant pulled from an organic growers field in Greensboro, MD.)

The stuff of science fiction often entails large dreamscapes filled with wondrous technologies; flying cars, intergalactic travel, gadgets and gizmos galore. What comes to mind are gleaming cities of chrome, glittering in their metal, futuristic appeal. Yet, there is often something missing from this picture: food. Yes, there are mentions of meals that come in the form of pills, hydrated by water, food produced in laboratories, however, agriculture is often relegated to the side, treated as a flavorless nothing. And that irks me. There are few things that unite unlike food. Food is central to the survival of all organisms, albeit in varying forms. Thus, by extension, agriculture is central to human society. If agriculture is so important, why are we not considering it as part of our futuristic ideal? 

Growth of Palmer Amaranth after Flame-Weeding (As shown above, the bottom row of trays has been flame-weeded for two, four, and six seconds respectively over Palmer Amaranth cotyledons. The other trays have been left untouched). 

When we discuss the fate of agriculture, I find that there are two central stances that often come up; the hopeful and the ugly. What is the ugly? Well, this can be surmised into a brief statement of decay and destruction. A lack of connection to sustainable agriculture is leading to the decay of topsoil, an eradication of biodiversity, a contribution to poverty, malnourishment, famine, political instability, and any other number of negative environmental, economic, and social dilemmas. The hopeful builds off of the ugly: it recognizes the potential for betterment within a failing system. It is the futuristic technologies of tomorrow, the innovation of today. It is the drone spot-spray applicators, indoor aquaponic labs, genetically engineered foodstuffs, meat grown by cell culture and soy isolate. Both are important to recognize, necessary to improve a currently failing situation. When you immerse yourself in the one, however, it is impossible to see the potential for agriculture as it once was, transformed into how it could be. When I dream of the future of agriculture, I find that it is not inside a building made of steel but in the fields of our grandparents. When I envision my future in agriculture, it's not in a monoculture of corn but in a polyculture of herbs, produce, cash crops, flowers, and native plantings. It is one of sustainability, of reconnecting with the mesocosm of life teeming below our feet and towering above our heads, one where we reconnect with each other as we reconnect with our roots.

When I think about my future in agriculture, many things still lay undecided. One thing, however, regardless of my career path remains constant: the regeneration of land. For me, hearing about the degradation of land is what drives me to pursue higher education, which I know I would like to pursue in some form or another as a career. If I were to continue on the agricultural route, regenerative and restorative farming is the path I would intend to follow. There is so much potential in regenerative agriculture. Knowing that even today, strides are being made throughout the state of Maryland with subsidized cover crops, Integrated Weed Management programs, and more. Why not promote farming practices that benefit the land, conserve and restore the soil? Why not push for biodiverse farms that are not only economically viable but lucrative endeavors? The amazing thing about agriculture is that it is a global phenomenon, meaning that I should desire so I could promote these practices worldwide. The future of agriculture lies at the intersection of sustainable, historical practices and cutting edge technologies. As a member of the younger generation, if I don’t work to promote sustainable practices, both environmentally and economically, I won’t have dinner in the near future. So, if that’s the case, why not join the fight for the future of our fields?