Today was our first field course. I was nervous earlier in the day; I have bad anxiety issues. But, everything on the farm was so peaceful, slow, and enriching. I realized within minutes of walking onto our patchwork of a farm that I had nothing to be anxious about.
Our farm includes our educational plot as well as plots that belong to faculty and graduate students. My teacher said that farming is as much about growing food as it is about sharing it. Farming brings communities together.
The idea that food should strengthen community is one that I find particularly important to the future of America's agriculture industry. While my economics courses all strive to demonstrate the benefits of globalization; I tend to lean towards a more localized system when it comes to food production. Meeting a professor (and farmer!) who shares my views was interesting in that it showed me the divide between economic policy and farming practice. This difference in understanding has predominated the history of America's agriculture industry and has tended the industry towards undiversified and detrimental growth.
This quarter, I hope to learn more about what it means to be a farmer so that I can bring that knowledge back to my policy studies. To fix the issues within our current agriculture sector, America could really use more people who have both economic background and farming experience.
Anyway, later in the day, I went back with my roommates to explore the farm more and take some pictures. The lighting isn't too good, but don't worry, there will certainly be more photos to come!
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| Sunset at the farm |
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| Feeding the Chickens! |
Do you have a garden?
Have you ever worked on a farm?
This is so awesome! Good for you! The chickens are adorable, too :) You're officially added to my reader, too btw. :) Have a good one!
ReplyDeleteThe chickens are hilarious. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!!
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