Dirt

I can always conjure up the smell of dirt.  I remember when I first learned that some people have never felt or smelled dirt and how difficult I found that to imagine!  Some of my earliest memories with dirt were when I was making mud pies on summer days on our farm as a child.  I made all kinds of magnificent designs and patterns on the tops of the pies, some with flowers or clover on top.

I even have fond memories of riding on the back of a rather old fashioned wheat drill to plant the wheat on our farm.  The wheat drill had a platform on the back for someone to check on the flow of the seeds through the machine and make sure it was not clogging.  I would put a bandana around my face so that I would not always breathe in the dirt as the dust would be kicked up along the field.  When we were finished for the day, the rest of my skin was 10 shades darker from dirt.  I always felt a sense of satisfaction and a bit of adventure on these days.

When I visited the farmland in Europe in the region of my ancestors, I brought back a little bag of dirt as a keepsake.  Some 30 years later I still have this with me.  We are fifth generation farmers and this little bag of dirt is somehow a symbolic link through time with all of these farmers who came before us.

When we bought our current farm, one of the first things we did was have a soil analysis done with GPS soil sampling and land mapping.  We received a very high tech book with the  various locations on our farm and the different types of soil nutrients present or absent in each location.  The quality of the dirt is one of the key variables and the literal foundation for farming.

We are also composting to enrich the terrible clay soil surrounding our home.  Both of these ways, the high tech and low tech methods, are wonderful ways we are connecting with our dirt and helping to enrich and sustain it.

Take a minute to consider what your most recent connections with dirt are and what you consider your earliest memories with dirt.  All of your food is connected in some way to dirt, whether you see it still on the produce at the farmer's market or you purchase a washed version in your grocery store.  All of the grains you consume are deeply connected to this soil.  Let's keep investing in our soil - dig in!

 

Connecting with the Earth and our Food

   As I continue to listen to people's thoughts and feelings about where they get their food and caring for the earth, I am amazed at the similarities that emerge from across seemingly polar opposites in the culture wars on food and agriculture.  People in all camps care about the food they eat.  People care about being a good steward of the earth so that it will be healthy for generations to come.  People like to feel connected to their communities.   People like to feel that they are doing something productive about which they feel passionate.  Modern farmers feel this way.  Sustainable farmers feel this way.  So why do we have culture wars on food and agriculture?
  I think the differences emerge in the trade offs each farmer makes.  Specifically, I think that one of the key issues is cost.  As I understand it, sustainable farmers feel that it is worth the extra input and labor costs to use the methods they feel are best.  They and their current customers feel it is worth paying more for food that meets their standards for being grown according to their principles.  The process or methods used are paramount and they are willing to deal with the consequences of higher costs.  Often this is possible because the sustainable farmers are sharing the financial risk with others rather than carrying it all themselves, perhaps through a co-op structure made possible by the smaller size of their operations and their location usually closer to mid sized communities.  The higher costs of these methods are one of the biggest challenges these methods face.  Many people cannot afford substantially higher food costs, nor do they have the means to reach the more limited distribution channels.  Sustainable farming will need to continue to address these issues if they hope to have their methods more widespread.
  Modern or traditional farmers, in contrast, are always feeling the trade off or tension in their choices of balancing yield, efficiency, productivity, cost and caring for the health of their family, neighbors, community and the earth.  It is a complex web of variables.  Modern farmers try and maximize yield, but not at any cost.  They consider the trade offs and make their choices, adjusting with new information.  It is in this information and adjustment cycle where the opportunity lies for dialogue and bridging the gap in these culture wars (more on this in a moment.)  Usually these modern farmers are carrying the financial risks of their operations by themselves.  Modern farmers are generally in the more rural areas of the US without the ability to connect as easily to mid sized communities as consumer co-ops do.  Many modern farmers produce grain row crops that are not yet a main area for sustainable farmers (eg wheat, corn, soybeans).  There are important reasons for this, one being the volatility of these markets making them more financially vulnerable and in turn putting pressure on cost containment.  The biggest challenge for modern farmers is to keep operation costs in check, while achieving a good yield, yet also considering the impact on the earth.
  So the opportunity for bridging the gap between these methods is in the sharing of information and dialogue and understanding that what all farmers care about is essentially the same - caring about our food, our communities and our earth.  Genuine openness to discussion and information is more likely to be successful than dismissing other positions and condemning other methods.  Look for opportunities to support this dialogue in your own community or online.  Ag related tweets, blogs and agriculture networks are popping up for this purpose.  Let's talk....and listen!

Precision Technology Intro Videos

This is a good solid introduction to what precision technology can do in an agricultural setting, highlighting how it is used and several of the benefits.   The second link is for a video from the US that is a little more on the lighter side of things, having the whole farm family show the technology inside the tractor cab.

Farm Futures video from the UK on Precision Technology


Common Ground's volunteer video showing one type of precision technology