The Future of Farming

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The Future of Farming

Delaware is moving into the second year of their new Young Farmer Program. The program provides 0% interest loans for 30 years so a young farmer can purchase farmland while permanently preserving that farm from development. The State eventually gets the money back while recycling the funds to preserve even more land. Is that win-win or what? But the program really brings up the question: What is the future of farming?

Farmer outside the US Supreme Court

Today’s New York Times covers the Supreme Court case recently heard (Bowman v. Monsanto Company, No. 11-796) concerning the farmer who saved seed from Monsnato’s Roundup-ready soybeans and refused to pay the licensing fees on the saved seed. It doesn’t look like the farmer will prevail. In any event, the case highlights the face of farming in the future; at least for one major segment of commercial agriculture. And that face is not the independent farmer, standing alone in the field, devising his own methods and following his own path in the battle against weather, insects, disease, markets and the thousand variables that make farming such a risky, and exciting, business. Today’s farmer must join forces with technology in genetics, computer systems, global positioning systems, intelligent software, rapid communications, market analysis and emerging systems not yet imagined, much less perfected. The big question which dogs Mr. Bowman and his legal battle with Monsanto is, “How much control will pass from the farmer to the partners who provide the technology?” This is a major question for the agriculture of our future. Some pessimists have already concluded that the farmer of the future may be little more than a tractor driver who makes few decisions and bears most of the risk of farming. The farmer becomes an operator of technologies that are out of his ultimate control, but upon which he must depend to maximize profits and, ironically, lower risks. Add to the that the government that demands a stable and cheap food supply and further mitigates risk for the farmer to achieve those societal benefits. This future is vastly different than the world the previous generation of farmers inhabited. So what, if anything, remains the same for the young farmers competing for Delaware’s help in owning land?

For one thing – the land itself is crucial to the future of farming. The onslaught of development along the fertile coasts of America has brought back to mind the statement two generations ago by Will Rogers. When the Cowboy Philosopher was asked why he was buying land in California in the 20s he scratched his head and replied, “‘Cause I realized they ain’t makin’ it anymore!” No matter where agriculture is headed in the future it will require land. And any real farmer knows that there’s nothing like owning your own land. That ownership intersects with the real reason a young person will take on a 30 year loan for land that can never be used for anything other than farming – commitment to a lifestyle in love with the challenge of growing things, and producing food, and feeling in your heart that what you do is important to so many. For someone like that technology in farming is just another dimension of the challenges

Some Very Old Ideas Still Work

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Some Very Old Ideas Still Work

In 1701 William Penn first laid out the farms surrounding his new town of New Castle. Then, it was part of his colony of Pennsylvania (later the Three Counties would become the new State of Delaware on June 15, 1776 – now known as Separation Day). Wisely, Penn planned for the resource needs of the colony by setting aside over 1,000 acres of land as a trust in common, as he stated in his charter, “to lye in Common for the accommodation of the Inhabitants of the Town of New Castle for their onley use and behoof forever.” And it wasn’t just benevolence that motivated Penn.

Penn, and his Quaker brethren, came to America to find freedom. Their brand of freedom was rooted in strong religious convictions, but they were also motivated by bitter experience. These religious dissenters had been hounded and persecuted in their native land. They knew that real freedom was necessarily rooted in more than noble words and stubborn opposition, but would have to be founded on true independence from that system of commerce and government that sought to control all the aspects of their lives. Penn, unlike other founders of American colonies, knew that resource independence was a vital component of colonial success. The “Common” he established for New Castle was to provide for that independence. In documents we find that wood was a vital resource from those lands for both construction needs and energy resources for heat and cooking. Later, farming would provide the food and fiber for the sustenance of the town. Recently I’ve been a part of a major project to rekindle the vision of William Penn in the 21st century.

The Trustees of New Castle Common continue to this day as a vital force in the life of the Town of New Castle. ( http://www.newcastlecity.net/city_gov/trustee.html ) The last remaining farm of the Common established by Penn has become the focal point of a new project to update Penn’s vision for today’s world. In conjunction with Delaware Greenways, Inc. the Trustees are revitalizing the farm, restoring the old house and buildings, have opened a farm market (Tract 6 Market, after the survey number of the farm from 1701) and will be establishing a CSA and several cooperative programs of education and training with the local school district. In short they are bringing back Penn’s idea of farmland in support of the prosperity of an urban center. And we all thought the trends of local food, supporting local agriculture, and linking farms to community were something new we had thought up! Not really – these ideas are more than 300 years old! There will be good, fresh food for the residents of New Castle coming from land preserved in common for their benefit. People can once again walk (or ride bicycles) out to the Penn Farm, talk to the farmers, enjoy the views – and take home dinner! But as great as all this may be, there’s more to the update of Penn’s plan than just some fresh corn! There’s the matter of independence.

In the last ten years or so we’ve learned from bitter experience the costs of dependency. Most dramatically, dependence on others for our energy resources has cost us our wealth and the lives of our country’s youth. More importantly, our own belief system has been assailed and assaulted by those who hold us hostage by their control of petroleum. We could stand on the verge of another pernicious web of dependency surrounding our food and agricultural products. As we let more and more of our country’s farmland slip away the specter of greater dependency on foreign food supplies becomes more real. William Penn would warn us sharply about such dependency. Penn would counsel that we set aside land, preserve it for the future health and happiness of our communities, for our “onley use and behoof forever.” Penn would tell us that if we want to pursue our own quest for freedom and independence as a nation in the 21st century, we must also pursue our independence in food and resources. That still sounds like good advice after 310 years!

Planning Was My Profession – Farmland Preservation Is My Love

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Planning Was My Profession – Farmland Preservation Is My Love

 

Thirty-eight years ago I climbed down off a tractor and went to work for the New Castle County government.  Where did my parents go wrong?  Seriously, I’ve not regretted a minute of the time as I look forward to retiring from the State of Delaware at the end of June. I did tell every boss that I worked for, “If you want to fire me, let me know in January.” “Why?” “Because, then at least, I can buy some seed and get a crop in the ground!” Farming was a passion I inherited – saving farmland I had to learn.

It’s been a good run here at the Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation Foundation in the Department of Agriculture. With over 100,000 acres of Delaware farmland permanently preserved I feel as though I’ve done what I came here to do 28 years ago. I’m the only person who has ever managed ag preservation in Delaware. Like Ted Williams’ home run in his last at-bat, I wanted to leave public service on a high note – I think I’m doing that. Planning has always been my profession – away from the farm. At the very heart of farmland preservation is good planning. Many people talk about maintaining a local food supply, or insuring the local ag economy, or supporting the noble profession of farming as reasons for putting public money and effort towards preserving farmland. Those are all good reasons. But at its very heart farmland preservation has always been, for all those reasons and many more, just plain, good planning. Preserving farmland complements good urban planning, too. It’s all part of what every jurisdiction should be doing as one of its principal goals – solid planning.

In the 1950s, when “Holly” Whyte (famous, then, as author of The Organization Man and with a definite Delaware connection as a graduate of St. Andrew’s School in Middletown) advocated for preserving farmland through placing conservation easements on prime land, it was really part of his wider vision for planning in New York City. In 1972 Whyte wrote the text for the NYC Plan. Later, “Holly” became famous for his insistence on street level plans that reflected humans’ actual activities. The connection is obvious – eating and farming are the most basic of human activities and should be at the very base of the plans we make for our civilization. The Greeks and Romans made the farmers’ marketplace (agricola) the centerpiece of their city plans. William Penn, another great city planner (and planter!) established farmers’ markets in his plans for Wilmington, Delaware. Only recently are we re-discovering the proper role of farmland and markets in our plans. I hope it’s not too late.

But preserving farmland has been my passion. Ultimately, the value of preserving farmland is a personal matter. As much as anyone in this business I’ve tried to use statistics, analysis, facts to justify the permanent protection of farms for future generations. In the final analysis, though, I have found that the public, and most farmers, have a deep-seated commitment to protecting the land that transcends numbers. While I can justify marriage (most days!) by citing the tax code, or longevity statistics, or basic economics, at the end of the day I’ve stayed with Joan for nearly forty years because I love her so much. That’s been the case with preserving farmland, too. I love doing it! I love seeing the face of an octogenarian who walks in to permanently preserve his great-grandfather’s farm. I love handing a settlement check to a young couple who are committed to farming a piece of land for a lifetime. I love it when someone who just bought a farm signs an easement and says, “Well, this farm will never be developed!” I don’t know exactly why I love all these things – but I do!

When I left home at 18 my father had a few words of advice. Fathers always do, don’t they? He said, “Whatever you decide to do with your life, try to make it something you would do even if they wouldn’t pay you for doing it.” Dad always said his vegetable farming and greenhouses were his hobbies – and he made money, too. I think I’ve done the same thing with my career. They’ve paid me pretty well for pursuing my passion. Not a bad deal! I can only wish the same for you in your career!

Presidents’ Birthdays . . . and Agriculture

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We stand on the verge of debating the next Farm Bill.  It’s unclear to me where the leadership will come from to craft this next round of agricultural policy.  With February upon us I thought now might be a good time to reflect on the history of America’s early national leaders and their views on agriculture.  I thought I’d start with the two Presidents whose birthdays we celebrate this month.  So, let’s take a look at our first President.

Mt Vernon PSPA

“I had rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world”

“I know of no pursuit in which more real and important services can be rendered to any country than by improving its agriculture, its breed of useful animals, and other branches of a husbandman’s cares.” – George Washington

Washington was clearly a man who loved his farm.  Perhaps, he loved it more than being president!  He had led a nation in wartime, at its founding.  One could argue that the Revolution was mostly about commerce and agriculture.  In fact, to a large degree, commerce and agriculture were one in the same in those days.  At the beginning of our nation America’s place in the world was based on our rapidly expanding agricultural productivity and trade.  Our ability to freely trade those products and gain access to world finances based on our sale of agricultural products was the basis for our growth and prosperity.  Washington, as evidenced by his second quote, was aware that agricultural improvements were, in fact, strategically important to his new nation.  Are these facts so different than what we see in today’s world?

Today, in the midst of a world-wide economic malaise that continues to hobble the U.S. economy, agriculture has been a bright spot.  Our balance of trade is defined by agricultural sales which offset declines in other sectors.  But access to markets in Asia, and elsewhere, are still constrained by imbalances in tariffs and trading rules.  Today, agriculture is one of America’s strategic strong points in international affairs.  More than ever, agricultural technologies from the U.S. dominate world farming practices.  But will the next Farm Bill recognize and capitalize on those advantages?  Will our leaders recognize the importance of research and development, as Washington evidently did?  Will we, for the first time, truly seize the opportunities to permanently preserve our inestimable reserves of prime working lands, farms and forests?  Washington would urge us to do more than we have done – for the sake of our nation!  Now, I turn to Abraham Lincoln.

This leads to the further reflection, that no other human occupation opens so wide a field for the profitable and agreeable combination of labor with cultivated thought, as agriculture. I know of nothing so pleasant to the mind, as the discovery of anything which is at once new and valuable — nothing which so lightens and sweetens toil, as the hopeful pursuit of such discovery. And how vast, and how varied a field is agriculture, for such discovery. The mind, already trained to thought, in the country school, or higher school, cannot fail to find there an exhaustless source of profitable enjoyment.
–AbrahamLincoln, Address before the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, September 30, 1859

Lincoln Cabin

Putting aside the language of the 19th century, Lincoln’s words sound so fresh and alive to me!  Lincoln, the creator of the United States Department of Agriculture, the signer of the Homestead Act and the Morrill Act, was a man with a keen sense of the importance of taking the seemingly mundane in life and applying research, education, imagination – and making life easier and more fascinating and, yes, finding enjoyment!  At the time of Lincoln’s speech agricultural societies all across the land were pushing for action by the Federal government in support of agriculture.  They had been promoting research and discussion of the emerging scientific advances in farming.  Lincoln, a consummate politician, seized the opportunity to trumpet their cause.  With the politician’s eye he saw that this cause would also combine the interests of the toiling workman with those of the intellectuals and scientists, while providing for the needs of all citizens at lower cost.  Now, there’s a cause worth running a campaign on!  Is that not true today – even more than in Lincoln’s day?  Americans in all walks of life are now asking where their food comes from, what is our diet doing for health and how are our farmers faring?  Agricultural research goes begging while we are on the very verge of monumental advances that will feed more people, at lower costs, with less environmental damage, while improving the lot of farmers here, and around the world.  Lincoln, I believe, would say, “Expand research and get our best – and most practical – minds to work on agriculture!”

The next Farm Bill is upon us.  Where are our leaders who will speak for agriculture?  Should not our nation’s chief politicians see agriculture as the next, great opportunity for America to lead the world – again?  Will we protect our most important strategic resource – our working lands?  When it comes to agriculture – are there any Washingtons or Lincolns to lead the way?  I pray there are!

A Day to Celebrate Those Who Served

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At 11 minutes past the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month . . . the guns fell silent on the Western Front.  The First World War (known as the “Great War” then) had come to a close.  But not an end, because only years later would the Second World War bring to some kind of closure the wrenching changes reshaping Europe – and the world.  Even today, in places like Kosovo, the upheaval still plays out like the aftershocks of some nationalistic earthquake.  The tremors will be felt for many years to come.

In London today, on their Remembrance Day, as the pipes join in playing Nimrod by Elgar, the Brits will solemnly mark the devastation that “the war to end all wars” brought to their tiny isles.  They will remember those who served and died and those who remain from all the conflicts.  They will weep again with the families and communities still bearing the scars of a deep wound still healing today.  And like some national wound that is constantly being disturbed, the wars of today send home the coffins, the wounded, the lame and the deeply disturbed of those who still go off to fight in desolate places.  Only duty and honor can serve to give meaning to these veterans and their families who sacrifice so much of their lives in pain and gut-wrenching fear.  Politics has no answers.

Here in the United States times have changed.  Veterans’ Day is a celebration of those who have served and serve today.  It wasn’t always so.  Many in the service in my generation, the Baby Boomers, came back from fighting in conflicts in Southeast Asia to find a nation ambivalent about their sacrifice.  They were sometimes reviled for the horrors of war which, for the first time, were seen daily on the evening news.  For those not standing in a jungle, fighting to stay alive, the images were too much to bear.  There was a new disconnect between those who had experienced the wartime commitment to comrades and cause, and those who, revolted by constant images of war, took up the anti-war protests.  And often, regrettably, these protests were directed at the men and women sent by their country to fight.  Our nation’s growing disdain for hawkish political leaders transferred to the soldiers and sailors.  But times did change.

Post-9-11 we see the military in a different light.  It is much closer to home now – this threat of destruction which elicits an armed response.  And while we may still question national leaders who hasten to war on flimsy pretexts, our experiences since Vietnam teach us that soldiers serve for different reasons.  Duty to country, to family and a personal sense of honor will motivate a man or woman to join the military.  But only the duty and commitment to those who serve together will motivate someone to cross a field of fire, to risk life and limb, to fall on a grenade, or share endless hours in frozen fear.  Men and women will only die in service for those they serve with.  It is this bond, consistent down through the history of war, that pervades the celebration of Veterans’ Day.  And it is the recognition of the service they give to us, the sacrifices they make for each other, and the benefits we all receive from that service that moves us on this day.

So Veterans’ Day, or Remembrance Day, binds all of us together in a human bond that is inscrutable.  Those who serve and have served know a special bond of comradeship that transcends everyday human relations.  Only great danger and commitment to country and honor can forge such bonds.  Veterans remember those bonds today.  For the rest of us we see more clearly today than before the nobleness of our fellow citizens who have answered the call to high service to country and their fellow man.  We have grown to appreciate their sacrifices.  We can all celebrate together.

Love of the Farm

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Love of the Farm

Why do people spend their lives trying to preserve and protect America’s vanishing farmland?  To those of us laboring in the vineyard it may come as a surprise that to many the answer is not obvious.  It is a question worth answering.  Let me give one of the many answers.

I want to mention something that motivates many of us to do this work – the love of the farm.  Now, this is hard to describe; but if you feel it, you’ll know what I mean.  There’s just something about a farm.  The growing crops, the animals grazing in the fields, the chickens clucking in the houses, the farmer going out at the break of dawn and climbing onto a tractor – all of it is, well, wonderful!  It doesn’t matter what part of the country, what the crops, what the animals – it’s just magical.  There is a beauty and peace and satisfaction in looking across a plowed field or waving grain or ripening vegetables and knowing it will be that way forever.  This feeling goes beyond the food, or the balance sheet, or the temporary pleasure of ownership – it is transcendent and touches some of the deepest chords in the human psyche.  We who have a hand in preserving these farms can reap a satisfaction that few people can ever feel in a mere “job.”  We are involved in keeping in this country one of the real touchstones of our civilization.  Daniel Webster once said in a speech, “When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilization.”  If he was correct, and I believe he was, then we who toil in the vineyard of preservation are the “protectors of human civilization.”  That should make it easy to get up tomorrow and go to work!