海角大神

Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture听just听released听Letters to a Young Farmer, 听a book which compiles insight from some of the most influential farmers, writers, and leaders in the food system in an anthology of essays and letters.

The United States is on the cusp of the largest retirement of farmers in U.S. history, with more farmers over the age of 75 than between the ages of 35 and 44.听Letters to a Young Farmer听aims to help beginning farmers succeed through advice and encouragement, while inspiring all who work in or care about the food system. Among the听36 contributors听to the book are thought leaders Barbara Kingsolver,听Bill McKibben,听Michael Pollan,听Dan Barber,听Temple Grandin,听Wendell Berry,听Rick Bayless, and Marion Nestle. I was honored to contribute to the book as well!

Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture is a nonprofit sustainable agriculture organization with a mission to create a healthy and sustainable food system that benefits all. The organization trains farmers, educates food citizens, develops agroecological farming practices, and convenes changemakers through programs such as a听Summer Institute for High School Students听and a two-day听Poultry School听conference.

Food Tank spoke with听Jill Isenbarger, CEO of Stone Barns Center, about听Letters to a Young Farmer, the need to encourage young farmers, and hope in the future of the food system.

Isenbarger says 鈥渨e created this book to give voice to farmers and illuminate the choices that can lead to a stronger future, for them and for all of us who eat. It reminds us that farming has always been a political act. These young farmers, who choose to farm rather than go into law or medicine or finance鈥攖hey are taking a stand; they are expressing their commitment to the land, to their communities, to the food movement.鈥�

Food Tank (FT): Why do young farmers need encouragement?听

Jill Isenbarger (JI):听Farmers are becoming an endangered species. The number of farms and farmers continues to shrink, and farmers are aging off of the land at an alarming rate. The average age of a farmer in the United States is 58.3 and climbing, and only six percent of farmers are under the age of 35.

Young farmers need encouragement because our society doesn鈥檛 value them the way they should be valued. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e just a farmer鈥� is the common refrain. Barbara Kingsolver, Wendell Berry, and Bill McKibben all write about this in the book. We鈥檝e also lost many agricultural traditions based on community, a common history of stewardship and hard work.

To support the kind of dignified labor and environmentally sound land stewardship that will help us create a more sustainable farming system, we simply may have to pay more for our food. According to the USDA, in 1960, Americans spent 17.5 percent of their income on food. By 2013, that had dropped to 9.9 percent. As a country, we鈥檝e grown accustomed to cheap food鈥攆ood that is not only inexpensive, but food that doesn鈥檛 taste good and isn鈥檛 good for us. Paying more for quality, nutritious food (and helping those of lesser means gain access to it), grown by farmers able to earn a living wage and provide health care to their workers鈥攖hat would go a long way to helping raise us all up.

FT: What unique obstacles do young farmers听face?听

JI:听Bill McKibben writes about surviving the 鈥渃arbon binge,鈥� and the challenges that a changing climate will bring to farmers who grow our food. Marry this with the challenges of finding affordable land to farm, paying off student loans, the dearth of start-up capital and a lack of regional agricultural infrastructure in some parts of the country, and you have a daunting set of obstacles that most young farmers face.

It is hopeful to note that H.R. 1060, the听Young Farmer Success Act, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT), Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA), and Rep. John Faso (R-NY), was reintroduced in the House of Representatives in February. This bill will help provide college loan relief to young farmers. So, some in Congress are paying attention, especially among them Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME), herself a contributor to our book.

FT: What are some of the most important areas for young farmers to focus their skills?

JI:听One is soil health, the very foundation of sustainable agriculture. There鈥檚 a saying, 鈥渃ivilizations rise or fall on the health of soil.鈥� Farming听with听nature听is the key; farming that builds up soil, uses water wisely and with an eye on the future鈥攚e absolutely need more of this. Wes Jackson talks about this in his letter: 鈥淓cological agriculture has the disciplines of ecology and evolutionary biology to call on, based on millions of years of emerging efficiencies such as those seen in nature鈥檚 prairie ecosystems.鈥�

At Stone Barns Center, we focus on two aspects of building soil health: one is through farming, and we teach and experiment with agroecology. The other is the concept of creating what we call a farm-driven cuisine in America鈥攃atalyzing a culture of eating based on what ecosystems, including farms and their soils, need to be healthy and regenerative.

Young farmers need to focus not just on the practical skills to grow, harvest, and sell their products; they also need to focus on building strong connections to their communities, sharing their deep love of land and place, and helping people understand the value and importance of farming done well.

FT: Which letters inspired you the most?听

JI:听So many of the letters and essays are extraordinary and inspiring and deeply moving. They flow with humor and insight, gratitude and humility. I love the wry wit of Barbara Damrosch, Mary Berry, Bill McKibben, and Gary Nabhan, and the lyrical insights of Raj Patel and Barbara Kingsolver. I was drawn to Amy Halloran鈥檚 line, 鈥淓ating is hunting in nature for food.鈥� It pulls you back to the bond that we need to have with the earth. It is primal. I appreciate Wendy Millet鈥檚 articulation of her 鈥渉undred years鈥� value, the idea of taking a long-term perspective on economically and ecologically sustainable management.

FT: What were the most common themes you found in the letters?听

JI:听There are many overlapping ideas that ripple out in their own ways, but these are a few themes that arose in a number of the essays and letters:

• Bridging the gulf between nature and agriculture, between land conservation and food production鈥攁nd finding the path toward to a more sustainable future.

• Renewing respect for farmers in a society that has taught children farming is a lowly occupation, and in a country that was founded by and largely composed of farmers until the mid-20th century.

• The changing nature of today鈥檚 young farmers, from generational鈥攐nes that inherited their roles and land鈥攖o the self-selected farmers who want to be agents of change.

FT: What have farmers鈥� reactions been to the book?

JI:听鈥淲hen are you putting together the next book? I want to write a piece.鈥� This has been a heartening response. Sharing the stories about the people who grow our food and steward our lands and waters is powerful and important. Farmers are a hearty, optimistic, and determined breed. To have received their support and encouragement is a great honor and means that we are advancing our mission in an important and meaningful way.

This story originally appeared on Food Tank.