Agroecology: A Way of Life
My grandmother, her mother, and her grandmother farmed in the Red River Valley of eastern North Dakota. I was grandma’s oldest grandchild and ‘garden acolyte’ and delighted in all the stories and lore of raising what you needed in a natural, sustainable, holistic way. No one said it was easy — they all said it was really hard — but it was worth it for them, and I knew how much they wanted to be farming, how they would do it again.
Farming needs to respect the people who work on the land, as well as the land itself.
We need agroecology for healthy soil, healthy food, and healthy communities. Agriculture has to be integrated, and it has to be local. Accountability is built into local food systems for good food, healthy land, and just labor practices. We are always studying, always thinking, always observing how things work in nature and on our farm. We are saving seeds, and we are feeding ourselves without depending on the marketplace.
We are also about bringing other people in and sharing what we have and what we know. We are here to take care of the land.
Everyone who eats should care who owns farmland and how their crops are grown, because only corporations will be able to farm in the future. And it’s not enough to be certified organic, because being certified organic doesn’t mean you adopt holistic farming practices. It also doesn’t mean you have fair labor practices. Farming needs to respect the people who work on the land, as well as the land itself.