I thought being stuck in Dallas Fort Worth airport for five hours would make me want to finish up my last assignment, sadly it did not. Instead I became fascinated with all the people sitting, standing, and running all over the airport. Everyone was so different, going different places, seeing different people, telling different stories. I could tell by the whispered conversations next to me, hugs and kisses across from me, or worried looks passing by me that every person had a purpose for their travel.

My airport experience reminded me a lot of my farm experience. Full of so many stories and many purposes. I learned so much in Iowa. I met some pretty awesome people. Most importantly I learned a lot about myself.

Farming is a special craft, and it may be a craft that is dying. Similarly so are all the small rural towns that make up Iowa’s landscape. Because consolidation and increasing markets farm has changed. Instead of communities where every home may have a couple of acres of land to farm, there are now vast amounts of land in between the few scattered homes that have managed to survive the ever-changing farm market, nearly destroying the communities that can barely manage to supply students for schools, keep open post offices, or have places to shop for groceries.

Going into the trip I thought I would be on the side of the farmer who manage and tend to these huge operations, but over time I learned that these big agricultural operations weren’t helping the small communities. After coming to my realization I wanted an answer. I wanted so badly for someone in one of the many presentations we went to give an answer, but they did not. Like many problems I learned there is no single solution. Furthermore, I learned that farming is not equitable. For the people still holding on to their small operations there were less opportunities for them. For the people who just do animal agriculture there were less opportunities for them. For the people who do organic farming there was less opportunities for them.

Even though farming in Iowa seems to be producing more and more yield, there was less and less for the farmer. Where is the equity?

I don’t know, and I don’t know if I’ll ever find it. I do know that I appreciate everything I consume as a consumer. I know I want to uplift and support small communities in my home state. For every farm there is a community behind it and we should invite people from the community to explore these farm spaces to investigate exactly where the food comes from.

Iowa opened the complexities of farming to me and showed me how important my role as a consumer in. No matter what you believe the right way to produce food may be, has consumers who have access to many food options we can support what ever farming style best fits us. Continued education will help me decide what food sources to support and can also help figure out how to make all the food options accessible to everyone, especially the communities where some this food directly comes from.

This may be might last blog about Iowa, but I feel pretty confident that this trip won’t be my last time visiting Iowa. There is a space for me there that I didn’t think I would discover.

Thank you Iowa, for the bees, for the food co-ops, and the cows…especially the cows.

When does the health of citizens become worth more than business and worth more than economy. This may seem radical but without citizens who are healthy there would be no economy. The lack governmental regulations and strong public policy has led to to serious water crisis to rural citizens in the Midwest.

When we have talked about a potential water crisis for rural Iowa citizens it has sometimes been met with a small chuckle and a description of apocalyptic wrapped in air quotations. A kind of joking reaction to what could be (and is) a serious problem.

In a New York Times article titled, “Rural America’s Own Private Flint,” by Jack Healy, he describes how Midwestern citizens are suffering from contaminated water. This impending health crisis has awoken one thing out of citizens and that is the drive to vote. The article explains how some elected officials have cut back on budgets on “environmental enforcement and inspections” making it easier for pollution to go unchecked. These decisions are likely to be challenging in upcoming elections by candidates that are advocates for stronger enforcement of clean water regulations. There is a new sense of accountability being placed on politicians by rural voters. Communities need help cleaning their water. They need options and financial assistance, and I think that assistance should be available to all members of the community.

I understand that no one wants to point the finger but, I think we should. I’ve said before and I will say it again. Big Ag. Big Ag is a big contributor to this water epidemic. We have to acknowledge the fact that the practices that keep these big 1000+ acre farms running are also ruining the places where we live. Farmers are the problem and consumers are too. The low food prices we have are made possible by the mass production of crops. As consumers I think it is also our role to recognize that we are eating our way into an environmental crisis. So yes, the farms need regulation, they need policy, they need government intervention, but as consumers we play have a responsibility as well. We can tell food producers to clean up their act. We can buy foods that are made through clean practices; using minimal manure, using no till, using no pesticides.

This approach is just a start, not a solution. It leaves out a people and treats the problem like a one fix solution. But if we don’t start now then most damages already made may be irreversible.

We are killing our access to diversity, which in turn is killing us. Water is just one problem that fits into a whole mosaic of catastrophe.

Legacy is a seed in a garden you never get to see grow.

That is what the fight against climate change should be, a legacy. A situation that is left better for the next person who has to take it on.

Connie Mutel, plant ecologist, explains that the fight against climate change should not be a fight that makes a younger generation feel hopeless, but instead instills a feeling of hope. She says, “Think Positively, Cultivate Hope.”

Imagine a land where the soil was so rich and absorbent that when it rained no water was left on the surface on the ground. Imagine there were roots so thick that you couldn’t plow through the soil with simple garden tools. Imagine such an abundance of animals that when birds migrated to different regions of the Earth it took days for a single flock to pass by.

This was Iowa. This how the land used to be, before colonization and mass groups of people moving to the area looking for refuge. There may not be a way for the state to back to its origin, but we can still mend the damage that has been done. In the play Map of My Kingdom, Mary Swander writes about how farmers in Ireland used seaweed to bandage the damaged soil and the breakdown of the seaweed replenished the organic material that was lost. Now Iowa may not seaweed, but there are still so many resources avaliable to help faciliatate Earth-freindly practices in farming. Beyond the range of the farmer, the state could take the lead in implementing programs that help slow down climate change.

Mutel mentioned that largest role we can take as fighters against climate change is to hold elected officials accountable. If anyone has the resources necessary to fight climate change it is the government. Government rules the land, with slack regulations and continuous pointless debate over climate change there might come a time when all the effects become irreversible. It is time to tell our elected officials that it is not a matter of whether or not climate change is real or not, it is a matter of when are we going to make a change.

This is no new phenomenon. Scientists have recognized the signs of climate change since 1824. It’s time to push for a farm bill that lays down the law. We need regulation and we need government help. If nothing is changed then we can count on losing farm land, food sources, healthy water, and further peace of mind.

It’s not about who is the bad guy. It is all of us. Every time we leave a light on when leaving the house, forget to recycle a plastic bottle, or plant a corn or soybean field using synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides followed by no cover crop; we are the bad guy. It’s not much, but it is a seed that grow into health and benefit for those to come.

AgArt. The term and genre used by Mary Swander. Mary was Poet Laureate of Iowa from 2009-2019. Her work is niche in the art scene and in the agriculture scene.

We should appreciate this work. Farmers and consumers. She highlights serious issues in both communities and presents it in way so that everyone can consume and understand the message. That is the power of art.

Swander, Emeritus Professor of English at Iowa State University, is poet and a playwright. Her plays travel around the country and tell the stories of small-town farmers and the struggles they face such as; farm succession, conventional practices versus organic practices, and meat processing.

After viewing one of her shows last night, Map of my Kingdom, I was really intrigued at how she presented the need for proper “land stewardship” which involves things like good environmental practices, farming organic if possible, and passing the land along to someone who would appreciate it and take care of it. How does she do this? Well for one she does not explicitly say farmers are farming wrong. Her rhetoric in the play has strong religious undertones. Examples of these undertones include reference to the Pope and many biblical stories that allude familial consequences if the land is not properly taken take care. The strongest of the biblical references, in my opinion, was Cain and Abel.

This literary approach allows for the audience to more susceptible to the message. In small towns, like the town we visited last night to see the show, have strong social ties and one of those ties is in the church. It acts not only as a temple of religious learning, but a social meeting place. So, it would be place where farmers of the community come together to talk about how good or bad their crops are doing, share tips on what they could better, and exchange products that could better help them achieve a successful season.

For the farmer, land stewardship could also be best received from the church community. Swander imparts a critical job on to the church, to teach farmers how to love the land. Loving the land and tending to the land should be centered around not poisoning the fields with toxic chemicals, monitoring what by-products occur because of farming, and not leaving it bear. Land has potential to always give something. That gift may not always be food for people, but it could be a nestling space for traveling animals, pollen hubs for flying insects, or just beautiful scenes of green grass for passing visitor.

The message of tending to the land and taking care of it was a strong message brought forth by Swander and her crew. Her presentation maybe well suited for farmer versus the convoluted jargon of Congress-passed bills. She uses her art and her mid-western farm culture to educate and challenge farmers to review how they run their own operations.

It is not the goal of art to persuade people to change their minds, and although art easily often gets caught up into performing the role of activism that is not its exclusive role. Art is simply made to reflect experience. That is what Swander does, she reflects experience.

Do you know what it is like to meet a celebrity?

We Pulitzer Prize winner Art Cullen. He is an owner and writer for The Storm Lake Times and also the author of the book, Storm Lake.

When faced with the opportunity to meet someone with notable status it is imperative that you make the most of the opportunity. You have to ask the right questions, laugh at all the jokes, and make a connection if you can. Meeting Art Cullen was great.  It was wonderful hearing his political drive and his take on agriculture. Cullen started his investigative writing, which led him to the Pulitzer, with a search for clean water. He followed a lawsuit between The Des Moines Water Works, a water plant in Des Moines, and tillage districts in Northwest Iowa (notably the Storm Lake area). I think what made this story such a commitment for Cullen is that he grew up in a farm family. He knows what it takes to manage land and produce yield that is going to provide for the family. As a citizen he also knows what clean water means. It is a balance of responsibility and accountability.

While being with Cullen I should’ve taken the to question about how he fights against the negative stereotypes that come along with journalism. As a journalist what you write as a news story cannot be incorrect. Incorrect or unsupported defamatory statements cannot be published and if it is a newspaper could lose its credibility and face very serious implications like a law suit or jail time for the journalist. When listening to him speak I trusted a lot of what he was saying and valued his opinions because of his professions. He has the sources and the evidence he needs to validate what he says. I speculate the most challenging part of his job is be balanced reporter and making sure that other writers at his newspaper do the same. In a community where there is such a diverse population of citizens how do you know you’re incorporating concerns or news that directly affect those communities.

So much goes into journalism and it is a tough job. It is art that has to be mastered and I am confident that Art Cullen has done that. The platform that he has been placed on is further being used to spread the word of things that impact all of Iowa, the state of water quality, something that he proves to be passionate about.

Journalism is given a bad rap these days, and it unfair to all of the writers out there who work diligently on their craft. Journalist and writers like Art Cullen prove that fair honest news reporting still happens. Education in journalism is necessary to be a good active citizen and knowing what good practices looks and sounds like is the best way to judge trusted news sources.

“Why do you do it?”

A question posed to me by Storm Lake’s City Council member Jose Ibarra.

I didn’t know how to answer. Why do I do it? I put myself on the line and I express myself because I want to represent people who look like me. Who sound like me. Who have experienced similar lives as me. I came on this trip because I thought I would find answers to my questions. So far I have only acquired more questions. I have found that there are privileges for white farmers across the state. I can’t help but question how farming looks so different for Black farmers. I want nothing more now than to find and support advocacy groups that rally for Black farmers. I question presidential candidates and critique how their plans for agriculture may not fit or exclude Black farmers. Most importantly I have learned the language. Just other spaces I occupy at school I understand the way the people talk about their issues. People only need to say what they know. I don’t push for translations by making people cater to me, ask I only that they speak earnestly and honestly about their experience. Being in Iowa I have learned the language and I can now apply the language.

That’s why I did it. I wanted to hear the narratives. They are not my stories nor should they be. I can take these stories as a template and discover how these stories intersect or match with other stories that I can express.

Council member Ibarra does it because he wants to urge his community to be more active. He is one of the many citizens that gives Storm Lake its vibrant diversity. He does because he wants to see more representation in places that makes decisions for his community.

This experience has taught me so much. That’s what the immigrant community has done for Storm Lake; it has made people learn. Learn how to interact with those different from them and learn how to teach others how to navigate new and different spaces.

Storm Lake is template. It proves what merging communities can be and it allows room for itself to grow.

Storm Lake has stories.

Iowa has stories.

I have stories.

They all connect, they are all different, but they all have purpose and all these stories are the reason why I do it.

Food is an act of revolution.

Today food gives us energy and strength to do everyday tasks and can help us perform extraordinary tasks. So, try to imagine just how important food was for the many Africans and African descent people trapped in slavery. It was vital at all times to have some sort of nutrition to power through even the most of mundane of activities which, sometimes, would have been challenging tasks for them.

Imagine the underground railroad. You would need courage to take on the outstanding journey of gaining freedom. It here where nutrition found in food could offer the best support in helping those travelling get the courage they need to travel.

In an article titled, “How Plants Were Used to Gain Freedom on the Underground Railroad” from The Allegheny Front, author Kara Holsopple discusses the importance of food and plants and how they helped slaves achieve freedom.

After reading this article I wondered where these kinds of stories were in regards to heirloom seeds. We visited a seed collection agency that focuses on collection, preservation, and exchange of all types of plants. While visiting the campus of agency we learned a lot about the types of preservation processes that happen in their labs and in the fields and we also learned the importance of storytelling and all the narratives that come with the seeds they receive. It was cute hearing the stories of accidental beans being created due to pollination that naturally happens or the family ties deeply rooted in the plants and vegetables, but I felt a lack of empowerment and was a little disappointing in the lack dimensions involved in the storytelling we heard. Now I have no doubt that there are truly moving stories in the seeds, and it’s those stories that should be consumed fervently.

I think it should be the role of a seed historian, the title of the employee who puts the stories and the seeds together, to find the stories of the seeds and the plants that traveled the underground railroad or fed indigenous communities. One plant that the Holsopple article mentions is a type of lettuce that was brewed and used as a type coffee for a boost of energy and as a way to control the menses of women travelling to freedom. These are the kind of stories in farming and agriculture that we don’t hear. I can’t imagine the migration of vegetables of fruit that moved with slaves.

This kind of documentation not only becomes another facet of history, but a sense of identity. African Americans and African descent people in other nations within the Americas don’t have the privilege of tracing their ancestry back seven and eight generations like many white Americans. Black ancestry has been violently cut off due to the history of slavery in the Americas. The kinds of heritage that seeds have the ability of holding and carrying can be truly powerful and could give Black Americans a sense of identity they may not have had access to before.

I had the opportunity to visit the Organic Valley distribution center and office. It was great being able to see both halves of the cooperative come together, having one day with the farmers and the next day with the employees who sell and distribute their product. Visiting Organic Valley I got a chance to see how they work and how they work with the farmers. One big thing they highlighted is that it is the farmers who own the company. So instead of having people buy shares of the co-op or become members everything belongs to the farmers and they get to make all the decisions regarding the function of the co-op. Another thing the co-op highlighted is how seriously they take being organic–all farms must stick to being strictly organic and have the proper certification to prove they are in fact following organic farming practices. The speakers at Organic Valley talked a little about how they work with farmers to keep up their organic practices, and there are farmers who want to transition to organic from conventional to join the co-op.  They have staff who works with farmers to help them move in to organic practices.

I am deeply committed to organic farming and think that most of these practices are beneficial, but I am concerned with the difficulty that comes along with transitioning from conventional to organic and how that process becomes even more difficult for Black farmers.

The 2018-2019 school year had an awesome opportunity to work with Furman  professor, Dr. Habron, to come up with a program that combines social justice work and environmentalism. I learned quickly that this combination is a passion of his and he gave me so many resources to look to verse myself in the literature. One focus of environmentalism and social justice that I became invested in were the racial disparities that Black farmers face in America. One of those disparities include becoming organically certified. An article titled, Has the Organic Movement Left Black Farmers Behind? from the news website Civil Eats (provided by Dr. Habron), revealed from pretty shocking statistics. The article says, “the 2012 Census of Agriculture found that of the 33,000 Black-owned farms, only 116 of them (or less than .05 percent) are certified organic.” The article continues to write that some of struggle of becoming certified organic comes from stigma in the black farming community and tension around the word organic. It is revealed in the article that Black farmers have trouble grappling with and accepting USDA certification because for some farmers they have always been farming organically but now it for them to receive the benefits of the practice they have abide by government policy. Part of that policy includes, “the USDA’s grueling 19-page application.”

Has the Organic Movement Left Black Farmers Behind?

Something I wanted to ask at Organic Valley, but didn’t have the courage to ask, for fear of making the mood uncomfortable and because the specific answer probably wasn’t available was, how many black farmers are members of the co-op? l think have resources to help with organic certification is in huge step in the right direction as far reforming agricultural practices, but they would be even more helpful in removing the inequitable gap between Black and white farmers. So, I can’t say that Organic Valley does not provide to Black farmers because I don’t have the answer to my question.

So these still leaves me wondering, how are we empowering our black farmers? And also questioning, how are we telling the story of organic farming? When Robert Paarlberg, author of Food Politics, writes about the organic practice he mentions how all food prior to the 20th century was always organic, but never mentions how the regulation of the practice disenfranchised groups of farmers around the world. I want to continue my research to discover what black co-ops exist and there are any specifically for food and/or agriculture. Uplifting Black farmers should be crucial in agricultural policy. To achieve food justice in America we must give all farmers equal opportunity.

I am an invisible man…I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids–and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.”

— Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man

I bet you didn’t know there were mountains in Iowa. It’s okay, me either. And I guess mountains probably aren’t the best description. They’re more like really big hills. On the Northeast side of the State there are huge rock formations covered in forests. There not quite as expansive as Paris Mountain back in Greenville (there aren’t houses on these mountains), but they are still big enough to grab one’s attention and even take one’s breath away. I’ve been told that a long time ago when glaciers were moving everything around the one that gave Iowa it’s striking flat(ish) landscape completely missed the Northeast allowing the land the to maintain its forests and rocky formations.

I’ve found my time here in the Northeast full of beauty, familiarity, and cows. Even thought these were no “Happy Cows” they seem glad to be able to roam around in the many pastures.

We visited a few farmers who are members of a farming co-operative called Organic Valley. Organic Valley works together with farmers to help them to sell their product to a market solely for organic standard farms. Going around to these different farms I realized two important things.

The first being the love for farming that everyone shared.

We visited mostly dairy farmers and one farmer who had livestock for meat production. Everyone of them loved there animals, at least from what I could tell. They all wanted what was best for the animal and did a lot of hard work to make sure that the animals were provided for. A common practice that farmers did was “rotational grazing,” or at least some version of the practice. What rotational grazing consist of is giving the animal (in this case cows) new grass to eat by fencing off sections of the pasture and moving them from one ares to another. Farmers did this because it gave the cows new grass to eat over time. They also did to improve there soil health. Cows are actually pretty picky and like some grasses over others. With is grass that they don’t eat they just stop all over it putting the plant back into the ground. This puts organic material back into the soil making it richer. The cows also act as a lawn mover eating the tops of the grass, which in turn breaks off roots into soil, which is a food supply for the microbes that live in the soil allowing them to the thrive. It’s not only the cows that benefit but the Earth as well.

The second important characteristic I learned from the farmers is the sense of community between them. There were a couple of things that contributed to the sense of community. The first being the most obvious, they were all organic farmers. Having the same occupation and the similar practices helps create a strong connection between everyone we met. They were able to talk about their own operations and they differed or how they were similar. Another factor that contributed to the sense of community was being from the same area. Residents of the same location can share obstacles they all may face due to where they are physically located. This connection best revealed itself when we visited an Amish community and there farm. Even though the Amish were not apart of the organic co-op they were from the same area as the other farmers and they knew a lot of the same people. They could talk about neighboring farms and the owners and how they helped or contributed to their operation.

This community was super important to me, because it is a continuous theme that reveals itself everywhere. It also important because it shows intersections between organic foods and local foods. Organic food can be local but that does not mean they always co-exist and one thing that consumers should be more aware of is that the terms are not interchangeable. Don’t expect local food to be organic or vice versa.

Robert Paarleberg writes in his book, Food Politics, “Journalist, Michael Pollan, a leading voice in the local food movement, observes that when people shop at a farmers’ market they become less like consumers and more like neighbors.” Food is a strong indicator of whether or not a community is thriving or not. Food can be a sociological tool to help communities around the nation become stronger and find solutions for weaker communities to build themselves up.

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien

So here’s my perspective: If it is not truly free range, grass fed, or anything else that prioritizes the health of animals sold for consumption, we don’t need it. Animals deserve to live a life that benefits them and satisfies their natural needs for as long as possible.

As I have traveled Iowa I have become increasingly aware that my views of animal agriculture don’t match the market needs for meat production. In my perfect world all animal farmers would have the ability to let their animals be free range, but in the US food market, demand just won’t make room for farmers to have that ability. Instead farmers have to house and feed thousands of animals at a time. To make it easier for the farmer and to increase profitability and productivity, they keep animals in large housing that has cages for the animals to stay. They make enough room for the animal to lay down and sometimes if the farmer is really fancy they’ll have spaces large for the animal to turn around. They keep food and water and one place for animal so refills are quick and easy.

One unique privilege of the United States is that food prices are ridiculously cheap compared to other countries. One reason that is able to happen is because of the production. The drive to meet the demand for meat inhibits meat producers to offer the best care and attention that best benefits the animal. For some commercial meat production farmers can have up to 3,000 pigs, and even that can be considered smaller compared to others.

When I think of proposals to satisfy the want I have for better practices for meat productions I immediately think of smaller livestock farms. One theme I seems o be coming back to over and over is small farms. I have been most invested in farms that use minimal space to make the most change. But even I know that in animal agriculture small farming is just not possible. Meat has become a staple in the American diet, and meat is super accessible to most people in the country. It would be unfair to just rewrite the food economy and eliminate the mass production of meat.

If we can’t change the food market then what can we do? Value small farms! Small farms have the ability to give the best life to animals going to market. The animals are more likely to be free range, have a diet best suited to what they would find in nature, and have a better relationship with the farmer who owns them. So, go to local market, local butcher, or even straight to the local small town farm, and get the fresh meat. Invest in these farmers so they can know they have a good relationship with the community they work for. Ask to see the animals and how they are being raised. This is let’s the consumer have a better understanding of what they are eating and how it is moving from farm to table. Ask about the health of the animals and how their health could effect yours. Small communities run best when they work together. Don’t just be neighbor to the person next door, be a neighbor to the whole town. Build trust and accountability. That is the best way to ensure freshest and healthiest local food.