Familial criticism.

That was an irksome dinner. I was dining with my grandfather and discussing the summer program which I'll be attending at Sterling. He kept shrugging and rolling his eyes, as if to suggest that I was presenting a paper on neurology in Aramaic. I told him that agriculture is still something that I want to pursue. The look of discontent and disapproval was stunning. I made a comment about the stigmatization of agriculture, and how some don't view it as a respectable career. He told me that in comparison to science or psychology, he doesn't see farming as a respectable career. I am truly irked by such hateful behavior. I'm not asking him to start planting seeds, or pull up a three-legged stool and milk a cow. I'm simply asking for respect, which I guess is such a hard thing to ask for. Because, of course, we no longer have a need for farmers, ever since the iFood App was created for the iPhone. Or maybe if enough people play online farming games, all our food woes will be solved.

Accepted

Today, I received the news that I was accepted to the summer program at Sterling College. I'll be attending a five week program, in which I will study sustainable agriculture. In addition to learning about sustainable agriculture, I'll learn more about Sterling College, and this will help me get a better understanding of whether or not I'll matriculate to Sterling. Sterling College is a small, environmentally-focused college, in Vermont. Here's an excerpt from the website describing the program. "At the end of the summer, students will have: • Worked a full season with vegetable production, livestock, and draft horses • Managed a contract with the dining hall • Seeded, planted, weeded, harvested over 40 different types of crops • Handled sheep, chickens, turkeys, pigs, goats, cows, horses • Farmed and logged with draft horses • Operated a tractor cultivating fields • Created and executed a Personal Learning Plan (PLP) • Baked bread in a traditional wood-fired oven • Visited several VT farms learning from those farmers who have been doing it for a long time • Managed a Passive Solar Hoophouse to learn season extension and growing food year round in a cold climate • Learned the principles of root storage in traditional root cellars • Engaged in food preservation – canning, freezing, drying, etc • Employed the principles of permaculture through the management of an Edible Forest Garden." This sounds like the perfect summer program for me. I feel that this is a fantastic program, and one which I'll enjoy attending this summer. After doing this summer program, I'll make a decision regarding whether or not I'll attend Sterling full time, and if so, when I'd start. http://www.sterlingcollege.edu/summer-ag.html

You are headed in the right direction. Trust your instincts.

At a Chinese restaurant this evening, I got this fortune, "You are headed in the right direction. Trust your instincts." Normally, I wouldn't think very much about a random slip of paper, in a random cookie from a random box, however this one resonated with me. For the past few weeks, I've been pondering my desire to do agriculture. My instinct has been saying "yes, I want to farm." I may have had some doubts in the recent past, but they've resolved. This is not to say that I don't have any other interests. I do, but I feel that agriculture is what I want to pursue, for it's what will allow me to change the current state of affairs in this country for the better. This summer, I'll do a program that will allow for agricultural learning. My goal is still to major in Sustainable agriculture.

Desire to pursue an agricultural lifestyle.

In her post in January 2010, Jenna Woginrich called it Barnheart. I, personally, don't have a catchy term for this state of being, but I have an anecdote, stemming from personal experience. A perfect example is found when going grocery shopping. While people are picking up foods grown thousands of miles away, and grown with a copious quantity of pesticides, I am pondering. I am thinking about the desire, in our society, to have such consistency in our stores, that we cease to realize that seasons should have an effect on anything other than our attire. We buy imported tomatoes and berries in January. So sustainable, and so good for the local economy. In addition to pondering, this state of being also manifests itself by causing an unstoppable yearning to pursue agriculture, which can cause "interesting" reactions from friends, family, and others. Surprise and scorn are common. If we were to classify this state as a malady, the only treatment is an experimental, experiential remedy. This remedy involves working in a field, or in a barn. Your HMO likely won't cover the costs of this treatment, so it can occasionally appear unattainable. Working on a farm can temporarily allow the "symptoms" to abate, however, they will still remain present.

Making a Difference in our Food System.

My goal is to make a difference in the food system, so that one day, local, organic food will be readily available to the masses, as opposed to its current status in our society, which is that of a luxury item. In order for this to occur, many more members of my generation need to take an interest in agriculture. Only when we have an increase in the numbers of small farms will the accessibility to this food increase. Otherwise, we'll be stuck in the current system, and there won't be hope for an improvement. The activists in this movement aren't holding signs, or occupying parks. The activists in this movement are collecting eggs, digging rows, or making cheese. In this movement, farmers are the activists, and farming is the activism that will bring about change in the system.

Another vacation

Another vacation is approaching. This one is for 8 days. I'm hoping to use this break in a productive way, thus, I'm looking for farm work during that time period. I'm in Massachusetts, but have the ability to travel, within the Northeast/Mid Atlantic states. My goal is simply to work and to learn. I want to learn practically. I learn by doing. I would be open to work on all kinds of farms, but ideally dairy. I could arrive on Saturday the 18th. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. Here at my school, I'm taking Agroecology this semester. The description of this course reads "based on a participatory learning model, Introduction to Agroecology investigates the philosophical and social underpinnings to the ecologically sustainable farm movement." An important part of this class is the designing of a project, which the student creates and runs. For my project, I'm thinking about raising a few meat birds on a small plot of grass. Due to the time constraints, I'm thinking about the Cornish Cross. Does anyone have any ideas, suggestions?

College

Some students enter college with ideas about their future, and those ideas change. The students are exposed to subjects that they haven't learned about before, and these subjects help shape their future career choice. For me, in the first semester, I learned a lot of new things, but I still want to pursue agriculture as my career, because I continue to see the problems in the food system, and I still want to change them. Yahoo News posted an article about the most "useless" majors. This elitist attitude completely ignores the fact that people need to eat, and food will only be provided through agriculture. When I mention my continued interest in agriculture to family or friends, I find it to be dismissed, often due to the fact that I'm "only" a first-year student in college, and that my interests will potentially change. Whenever someone implies this, I see the true insinuation. They're trying to subtly express disapproval of my career goal. Honestly, it doesn't matter. It's my career goal. Yahoo Article. http://education.yahoo.net/articles/most_useless_degrees.htm