What do farmers think are the most pressing issues on their farms? How do they perceive the threat of climate change and its relationship to agriculture? How have their years and experience farming helped them develop their own vision and philosophy of agriculture? Over the past month I attempted to find answers to these questions by interviewing experienced local farmers. I have titled this project “Farmers at Large.”
Who am I?
For the most part, I am a PhD candidate in history at UIUC trying to finish my dissertation. However, this summer the Humanities Research Institute Summer Bridge Program and The Land Connection have given me the opportunity to develop this project as a venue for farmers to share their stories and experiences. As a historian of environmental history, I am interested in the narrative of how American landscapes have changed over time and the decisions humans have made to enable those changes. Through these interviews, I believe the reader will get a sense of both; market forces and politics have tremendous impacts on the way farmers negotiate their land and overdetermine our collective environments.
Before beginning my doctoral study I gained first hand experience in agriculture as the garden manager at my alma mater Lake Forest College and as a fellow at Urban Adamah’s farm in Berkeley, California. Among the things I learned is the tremendous amount of work it takes to run a farm, even a small one, and to appreciate the people and labor that make our food systems happen. I also learned the value of creating food systems driven by relationships with the land and the people growing food. Farmers are integral constituents of our communities and society, whether we recognize them as such or not. I see this project as a way to give farmers and the problems they encounter the recognition they deserve.
Scope
“Farmers at Large” is based on the interviews of four farmers representing different aspects of agriculture. Cathe Capel (Seven Sisters), David Bishop (PrairiErth Farm), Jack Erisman, and Lisa Mileur (Mileur Orchard). After the fourth interview, I will conclude with a wrap up post that will summarize my sense of the themes and lessons from the interviews collectively. Each interview taught me a lot about the conditions of contemporary farming and, even more so, what it will take to solve some of the intractable issues facing society. I hope you all enjoy the interviews as much as I did.
