In 2009, an important milestone occurred. By the middle of that year, a greater proportion of the world’s population lived in urban areas than in rural settings. As the world’s population approaches 9 billion, the disconnect in understanding how food is produced will continue to grow, and it threatens the feasibility of the ag community producing food required to feed a hungry world.
As the population becomes more removed from agriculture, people become susceptible to forms of propaganda or misinformation—mostly about how a farm should function or look. Often, the idealism includes thoughts about a farmer using a pitchfork to feed hay to animals and milking a cow by hand.
Choose your words carefully
Over the years, we have seen words and terms such as “sustainable” weaponized and used against the farming industry. In the past year or so, I have seen “regenerative agriculture” being used to describe the wave of the future. But I find that no one can give a solid definition of the term. Instead, it’s used to say that all current farming practices are not sustainable.
As independent researchers and consultants, we provide unbiased advice based on data and facts to help move our industry forward agronomically. But we also play a vital role in providing checks and balances to the industry. In my local area, I have seen a greenhouse operation sell its hydroponically grown tomatoes as “herbicide-free,” even though no herbicides are used in the growing setting. Every summer when blueberries begin to ripen, many small operations will sell fruit from small roadside stands and post signs stating that the berries are “spray-free.” When I question this statement, the response is that they stopped spraying pesticides once the fruit started to form after bloom. But yet, they did spray a lot through spring up until fruit set. These farmers know marketing well, and to make the sale, they are taking advantage of consumers’ lack of knowledge on the topic. However, they are causing problems by confusing consumers who later do come across the correct information.
The role of the independent consultant will become more vital as the population grows. We are the individuals keeping educated on new trends. We seek out correct information to provide environmentally and economically sound advice and create and maintain a sustainable regenerative food system that allows us all to flourish!
As this is my last article, I want to thank the readers. I appreciate the feedback I have received in the past year. I’ve written about topics that have been “outside of the box” and somewhat “taboo,” but I hope these columns sparked discussion and interest in different areas within the industry.
