Where We Are

A large portion of conventional agriculture (and in the bulk of U.S. organic agricultural production as well) operates on the assumption that higher yields, more intensive production, more adoption of technology, and the highest possible profitability are some of the markers of successful farms. This is embedded in the way results on the individual farm, the commodity sector, and across agriculture are viewed and measured. Look no further, for example, of ways that these markers are tracked than corn and soybean yield contests, metrics of volumes of overall commodity crop and livestock production, and state and national level measures of farm income.

While there is use of conservation practices (along with modern agriculture’s yield, technology adoption, and profitability objectives), it is often the use of conservation practices that can be adopted without requiring a significant diversion from those core objectives and practices of modern agriculture.

This current focus of agriculture has its validity as an exploration for agriculture and what such a focus can develop, and, it is decidedly a teenage version of agriculture. This isn’t to demonize the predominant form of agriculture, any more than we demonize teenagers for not being adults yet. It’s part of the process. Teenagers are where they are in their development, focused on themselves and their own needs often without a strong focus on the needs of the greater whole. But the natural resources of the world cannot and will not sustain teenage choices indefinitely.

Where We’re Going

There’s an opportunity for agriculture to become its adult version, and to take further accountability for the roles it plays in environmental and human systems alike. This is not the kind of accountability that is needed because consumers or society at large demand it, but the kind of self-accountability where each farm and node in the interlaced web of agriculture is seen as a part of the whole, of everything that's alive on the planet.

This way of considering a more mature agriculture and its role invite a framework of what I’m calling the “Circles of Agriculture”. The Circles of Agriculture are the circles of giving and receiving within an environment that allow the harmony and flourishing of life. That includes harmony and flourishing of plants, animals, humans, and many other types of life.

We can start with an example of the circle of the land. Almost every crop grown and animal raised requires the support of the land. This is where the growing happens, and the land is one of the fundamental cores of growing life. The land is giving abundantly. To be in the circle of the land requires there is an acknowledgement of this gift of the land, and that the land is stewarded, not just extracted from. This requires a dynamic stewardship; it will not look the same everywhere and it will not remain the same over time. Farmers are both in a position to receive from the land, in terms of harvest of crops and livestock, and in their own well-being from being so connected to the land. They’re also in a unique position to give back to the land. That may look different across traditions and philosophies, but it is only a circle with the land if there is both giving and receiving.

There are many overlapping circles involved in these exchanges of giving and receiving necessary for agricultural harvests. There is the circle of the land, the circle of the water, the circle of the plants, the circle of the animals, the circle of the sun, and infinite other circles involved. And, the farmer and their community are necessary parts of completing those circles.

The Circles of Agriculture require that farmers use one of the skills that they’re best at, which is noticing what’s happening on the land and in its natural world, and responding to that in ways that support the living world in that place. Every farmer I know practices some form of this listening to their land and what’s growing every single day. Applying this listening within a framework of giving and receiving may take some mental dexterity after generations of a modern agricultural focus. However, those who are able to do so will be able to not only better position themselves for where agriculture is headed, but also enhance their own life and corner of the world.

--11/25/24

Note: An introduction to this series and links to other topics in the series can be found here.