This Saturday crowds will gather to wave signs and chant against one of the more frustrating and ridiculous conspiracies of our time – that Monsanto is out to take over the world.
March Against Monsanto rallies against everything that shares six degrees with Monsanto – GMOs (genetically modified organisms), the herbicide Round-up, corporate agriculture, factory farms, dairy, beef, chickens, fruits and veggies, grocery stores, – the list is quite long. Put a negative spin on anything ag related and MAM will blindly champion the cause.
Being a glass-half full kind of person, not to mention the obvious ‘my family farms for a living’ . . . I can’t grasp the tunnel vision with which MAM operates. They certainly are not problem-solvers. Problem-solvers would spend more time doing rather than shouting.
Farmers are problem-solvers, though. Maybe if the group would engage in respectful dialogue with farmers, it would discover farming is so much more than Monsanto. So. Much. More.
Farmers share a lot about the tools in their tool belt. Call them tools, pieces of a puzzle, drops in a bucket, slices of pizza, eggs in a dozen . . . how farmers raise a crop or care for livestock is as a diverse as their farms themselves. And often (gasp), Monsanto isn’t even in the mix.
Take our farm, for example.
This spring we planted genetically modified corn and soybeans from Wyffels Hybrids, Agri-Gold and Pioneer. We did not plant any Monsanto-branded hybrids or varieties this year (except for four rows of a gm-sweet corn we’ll freeze for winter and share with friends and family. I’ll write more about that later.) Why no Monsanto in our fields? Farmers have choices and our seed selection was the result of research, reading, and comparison of on-farm field data. Will we plant Monsanto seed next year? Maybe. That’s the great thing about choice. We get to make it.
Our crop protection plan includes the gm-crops that will be able to fight their own battles against insects. It also includes a variety of herbicides from DuPont, Bayer and BASF, and a soybean and corn insecticide from Sygenta. No Monsanto products. Why? Because farmers have choices! On our farm, we strive to follow best management practices, which for us, means switching up the hybrids and pesticides applied to our fields every year. It’s a way to keep the bugs, weeds and diseases guessing. Will we use Monsanto chemistry on our farm next year? Maybe.
Side note: The rage against the machine (i.e. Monsanto) mentality seems to ignore the fact that people work for companies. They work to make a living, build a career, for personal satisfaction, to contribute to a greater cause . . . When I say we purchase our seed and crop protection from various companies, we do that by meeting with a person. No Amazon orders. We talk. To a person. Face to face. Personal relationships are important to farmers.
People are another tool in our belt. We rely on the expertise of an agronomist (who I interned with while in college). We purchase our seed from a long-time neighbor, a fellow former 4-H member and the dad of one of my farm boy’s friends. We get Christmas cards from this people. Go to church with some. See them in town. Come down to the farm-level and you’ll find agribusiness equals people not faceless entities.
What other tools do we employ? Smart tractors process information about soil, moisture and previous year’s yields in order to determine how many seeds to plant in a specific square foot of a field. We use the same information to apply fertilizer and pesticides. The computer technology allows us to change application rates on the go, treating each individual section of the field instead of broadcasting over the whole thing.
Soil management includes decisions about cultivating, planting and harvesting with a goal of building soil’s organic matter. Water management means watching for erosion, planting and maintaining buffer strips along creeks and streams.
Tools involve financial planning, marketing crops, and managing relationships among family and farm partners.
When Saturday’s marchers take to the streets, farmers and ranchers will take to their fields and pastures raising the food to feed those that rant against them.
The business of, the livelihood of farming, is so much more than Monsanto.
If I could hug you right now, I would!
After a long spring of our husbands missing family moments, working around the clock to beat the rain + helping each other hand-in-hand, this post couldn’t have been more important.
Thank you so much for giving me something to share with my friends from around this awesome country who haven’t yet had the opportunity to visit our farm, to see the love + to truly understand that our farms are more than Monsanto.
Amazing post!
//xo//
Kate
Small towner, big dreamer + proud farmer’s wife
p.s. If you haven’t considered Huff Posting this, you should. Totally worthy!
Thank you so, so much for the kind words and encouragement. I’m glad a late night ramble (that’s what this was at the time) can resonate with so many.
This article should should be read by every one who is concerned about our Nation and to know the truth about agriculture in our country Especially those who are on the farms and know what they are talking about ..
Thank you Arbie.
Mahalo from Hawai’i!
Thank you!
This is such a well written post with a solid perspective. Well done and thank you!
Thank you!
I would of never found Your page if it wasn”t for A young Argiculture student at the University of Illinois ,Jacob Meisner who is a great defender of of the American Farmer .He has a passion for your way of life .He is starting to teach and will be a great teacher or any thing that has to do with the Agriculture Industry
read Robyn Obrien, Arpad Pustai. the picture you paint is idyllic. what i see is green deserts because most of what is being raised is not consumable for humans or animals. i fear you will regret feeding your family gmo sweet corn. we are marching straight into monoculture. not good. by the way, i use to teach vocational agriculture. Hybridization is not gmo.
No regrets here. Just a commitment to improvement and sustainability and we are on that path by making choices that are right for our soil, our fields, our resources and our family. No deserts either. Our corn is sold to export markets for food, fuel and consumer products. Our corn is sold in domestic markets including local ethanol cooperatives, a processing plant and a feed mill. Our corn is eaten by humans, by animals and vehicles . . . in a way. In the manner that G-M-O is interpreted in the press, I would agree a hybrid achieved through traditional breeding is not gmo. . . but even a gentically modified hybrid has to be replicated in a seed field . . . like one of ours.
Finally, I do want to say thank for your service as a vo-ag teacher. Important work and important lessons taught to many, I’m sure.
WM, the results of your history as an agriculture teacher concerns me. Overlooking the quality of writing in your comment, I wonder whether you taught your students to make decisions based on science or superstition and emotion. Agricultural people have always been involved in creating better days through better ways. That involves scientific inquiry and investigation. It involves in searching for new technology and improving existing technology. I don’t read that in your comment. What I read is the preference for idealogy over truth and cherry picking facts to justify predetermined conclusions. YOu final sentence is the most telling. Hydridization is indeed genetic modification, through selection. What you should have said is “Hybridization is not Transgenic.” Even with that said, the safety of transgenic crops has been demonstrated repeatedly.
Reblogged this on The Farm Paparazzi and commented:
I took an hour this morning to catch up on one of my favorite blogs, Rural Route 2: The Life & Times of an Illinois Farm Girl. I love her intelligent, honest, heartfelt approach to blogging about her family’s farm life. This post from earlier this year struck a cord and fits so well with our farm philosophy. While you read, know that what she says is true about our farm as well. Thanks illinoisfarmgirl for your insightful words!
You are too kind!! Thanks for reading, sharing and telling your farm’s story as well.