Are Farmers Brown or Green?
Has “green” thinking gone too far? Mike Rowe, speaking at the recent National FFA Convention, mentioned that the world may be wrong about making things green in a recent Agrinews article about the Dirty Jobs host. “Green maybe wasn’t the best color. Seems to me that brown would be better suited. Think about it, everything that’s green starts with something that’s brown, usually dirt. And if you were to scrape the dirt off of the farmers from coast to coast, you’ll find the greenest people on Earth. Not because they’re trying to save the world, but because sustainability is the best way for them to do their job.”
Those of us who breathe the air of farms and ranch know how “green” we really our. However, in an era of many activist organizations painting farmers as every color BUT green, we need to issue a wake-up call. As Rowe said “What if Sierra Club and Greenpeace aren’t seeing the whole picture? Maybe brown should become the new green.” We’re not likely to get the whole green movement to change their color, but perhaps we can connect the dots between the food and environmental movements since both are so hot.
For example, helping people understand environmental practices used on farms to produce safe food, help the environment and provide wildlife habitat. The World Agroforestry Center recently announced that 46% of the world’s farmlands have more than 10% tree cover. Their study showed that farmers are both protecting and planting trees simultaneously. In addition to products, trees help with soil erosion control, water quality and biodiversity. According to the Feedstuffs FoodLink article, “the extent of trees on farmland in North America and Europe is especially impressive given the large commercial agriculture sectors of these regions.”
Tomorrow’s Table recently published a piece about biotechnology that allows Bangladeshi farmers see up to 5 fold increase in rice yield during floods (as compared to conventional varieties). This is important because 4 million tons of rice, enough to feed 30 million people is lost each year to floods. Biotechnology, while rejected by many in the “green” world, actually provides nutrients to people AND reduces the amount of pesticides, labor and fuel used to grow food.
These are just two examples of how agriculture is green by tapping into the beauty of brown – soil (not dirt). Soil that gives life to all things green. What other ideas do you have about how farmers are green? Share them here – but more importantly, tell your friends about what you do in agriculture to be green!
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Yes as farmers we sometimes look a bit brown or “dirty”, but our farms are very green. Farmers are the orginal “green”. On our farm, we use the liquid manure from hog operation, to fertilize the for the next years crop. The only down fall is, we don’t have more hogs to produce all the fertilizer our farm uses!
Also, thank goodness for bio-tech! Our corn is still standind strong in the field, even through the long harvest & wet conditions. This is possible because of good, strong plant health created by modernizing are farming practices.
Michele,
Nice post. You bring up another piece of the puzzle in terms of the mis-conceptions that encapsulate the industry we love.
I do not work with one farmer, translate that to 100% of my interactions; repeat 100%, that are not worried about the environment. Farmers make their living off the land, thus they are doing everything they can to ensure the fertility of their soil for future generations. In my opinion, it is second only to remaining a sustainable business.
I couldn’t agree more with your statements about bio-technology. The scientists researching this have more work to do, and making emotional choices while being far removed from the macro-issues we face is borderline selfish. At the end of the day, GM foods may just be more sustainable; in the mean time, if they can be used as a piece of the puzzle to help lift people out of poverty, we have an obligation to do so.
This post should serve as another reminder that we need to continue to work hard at providing the facts about agriculture.
So how would we go about building that bridge? I do what you mention in the last paragraph and tell everyone I can about what I do. I urge others in the ag community to get involved! People want to hear your story. Actually, I take that last statement back. People NEED to hear your story. Need some examples?
1.) Talk about conservation tillage
2.) Talk about erosion control
3.) Talk about rotational grazing
4.) Talk about VRT
There are many more ways in which farmers, who by the way were the original environmentalists, are “green”, so get your “dirty” brown hands to the keyboard and spread (man corny puns in ag are aplenty) the word.
Thanks for all your work Michele..see you at a tweetup sometime soon..
Best,
NJT
With the help of the Croplife Ambassador Network, the ag industry has spoken with over 36,000 Midwest youth in the last 5 years about modern agriculture, including how we are “green”. If you would like help with locating speaking opportunities in your community join our network at http://ambassador.maca.org.