Farmers plant fertile seeds of understanding
Tours of farms in
the West help people outside agriculture appreciate industry
Capital Press
August 14, 2006
During
summer, most farmers are busy picking, harvesting or cutting their crops.
However, this is also seeding time in the West for farmers and ranchers.
Some help plant seeds of knowledge about agriculture in teachers,
politicians, government agency workers and the general public who visit
their places.
In Oregon, the Summer Ag Institute has each year two week-long courses in
the eastern and western parts of the state to educate about 40 school
teachers so they can help teach their students about agriculture.
Andrea Kuenzi, who helps coordinate one of the sessions, said she has been
involved for four years and has heard a common theme from the teachers about
agriculture.
“They can’t believe how much we do and how much agriculture is a part of
life.”
Jenica Beecher, from Portland, who teaches in Sherwood, Ore., recently
shared at a dinner in Corvallis, Ore., what she had learned from her
session.
“Probably the greatest thing that I’m taking away with this week is a
new appreciation for the land, the soil. Things that I walk on and just
never really thought about before. And it’s wonderful to be out there and
seeing all the things the farmers do… watching them look at their soils
and pick up the seeds and see if they’re ready for harvest. It’s amazing
and wonderful and I feel a new connection that I haven’t felt before.”
Also in Oregon, the Agricultural Political Action Committee (Ag-PAC)
provides a tour each summer for about 100 to 125 people.
“We educate policy-makers, legislators, and agency personnel that might
need a deeper grasp of agriculture and what it’s all about,” said
Paulette Pyle, the grassroots director for Oregonians for Food and Shelter.
“They ask questions, and get a better understanding of the farmers’
concerns and business.”
The tour this year focused on Eastern Oregon, helped people learn more about
biofuels as well as labor issues. “Basically, we look at what is the issue
of the day,” Pyle said. “We always try to get water and farming in the
tour… and we don’t want to leave forestry out.”
The tours influence the attitudes of these decision-makers in the future.
“They demonstrate they really do care about our issues and rural
Oregon,” Pyle said.
In Idaho, the Food Producers of Idaho holds fact-finding tours for state and
federal legislators and government agency staff. The group includes visits
to farms but also meet key agricultural leaders and learn more about natural
resources.
Sometimes politicians lead tours to farms. In California, Rep. Devin Nunes
held his third annual Central Valley Ag tour in the 21st Congressional
District in May to help fellow business leaders and politicians to “become
better acquainted about the variety and complexity of the agricultural
industry here in the Fresno and Tulare counties,” he wrote in his
newsletter.
Farmers deserve recognition for accepting these visitors to their fields and
homes, being open with how their business works and trusting strangers with
the information they share.
Various groups and individuals who generously provide money so people can
attend these courses and tours also deserve applause for placing high
emphasis on educating others about agriculture. From state-wide commodity or
lobbying organizations to small county Farm Bureaus, each plays a role in
helping support people to expand their knowledge of such an important sector
in the country.
Often the agricultural community has felt frustrated when the public,
policy-makers, government employees and even classroom teachers have showed
a lack of understanding or compassion for those who grow crops and raise
livestock.
When issues arise — such as biofuel, farm labor, land use, pesticide
rules, water management, animal care and so many others — there may be
misinformation, intentionally or not, present in the classrooms as well as
the political halls of power.
When laws and regulations are created for adoption across the country, there
is concern that the one-size-fits-all mentality will do more harm than good
because not all the variables were considered before the new rules were
passed.
While representatives of the Environmental Protection Agency might be
sometimes the last people that farmers would want on their land because of
past situations and regulations, this year some Washington state farmers are
helping educate EPA staff in Region 10 for the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.
The region has for the first time introduced for EPA staff a program called
“Ag 101” that has four components. Program participants individually at
their own pace took an on-line part on fundamentals of agriculture; they
then attended an in-house training session for a day and a half. This
included hearing a farmers’ panel that included representatives from such
groups as the Washington State Dairy Federation, the Pacific Northwest
Direct Seed Association and Washington Tilth.
Karl Arne, EPA’s leader for the EPA course, said he asked farmers to
describe their operations and environmental challenges they face. “They
were also asked to give EPA advice as to how to work with the farming
community. It was a great exchange, and it helped staff here understand ag
issues from the growers’ perspective and it also helped build some
bridges.”
The third part of the training involves upcoming farm tours: A Western
Washington one this summer will examine rural-urban interface issues as well
as smaller farms, while the tour for Eastern Washington will look at the
production side of agriculture.
And the last part, which Arne said would help measure the success of the
program, is the capstone project: students of the course research and devise
projects to tie their work directly to the ag community, he explained. It
will take until fall to complete this course.
Arne said there are a lot of environmental interests associated with
agriculture, such as water, air and pesticides.
“All are touched by agriculture,” he said. He added the EPA wanted to
get better communication with farmers but also those who support
agriculture, such as government agencies, commissions and conservation
groups.
“We wanted to get staff to understand issues, how crops are grown, and
make communication and relationships to work more closely with farms,”
Arne said.
Asked how farmers responded to the request to be part of the course, Arne
said the farmers were very interested in being involved and sharing their
stories with the EPA.
The agricultural knowledge and experience of the almost 30 EPA employees who
are taking the course really varies. However, all of them make more
connections and learn from farmers better ways to do their jobs.
“The best solutions are those from the farming community,” said Arne.
Farmers suggest how their farms can be healthy and viable, and also help
teach that there are ways to meet EPA interests and goals, but stress that
laws don’t always work across the country, such as the width of buffer
zones for streams.
Arne said he hopes to continue the course next year, and also involve more
EPA staff from throughout the region, rather than being mostly Seattle-based
staff.
Planning training sessions, tours and courses in these western states takes
time, resources and commitment as well as the cooperation of farmers and
ranchers during a busy time.
Realistically, not every urbanite, teacher or political decision-maker can
visit farms.
But all these efforts help seed ideas and valuable connections that
hopefully will harvest better support, greater understanding and a deeper
appreciation and respect for those who call agriculture their way of life as
well as their business.
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