I met a good farmer today: How land ethic shapes our future

MACOMB, Ill. — I met a good farmer today. In recollection, I don’t think I’ve ever met a bad farmer, but this encounter was different.

Immediately we hit it off. The conversation turned from the windbreak I came to look at to our former dogs. We talked about marriage and kids. It seemed like I had known this guy my whole life. The conversation came easy.

He had just taken a break from spraying to meet up with me to take a look at what seemed to be spider mite damage to his spruce windbreak. He had first noticed the damage last fall. The dry weather has promoted spruce spider mite populations and the current drought this spring of 2023 continues from last fall when our evergreens went into winter in a water deficit.

From the windbreak, we went to take a look at some ailing maples next to a large pond. The farmer told me the story of how his father dug out this pond and he swam in it as a kid. Today his grandkids swim and fish in this same pond.

I asked about chemical runoff and if that was ever a concern. He described his stormwater management strategy and how much care he takes in managing the waterways of the property. Water and soil conservation are paramount to the future of agriculture, and this farmer knew it. He lamented on the poor farming practices mainly the corporate-owned ag companies that look to production on an annual basis and not through to the next generation.

One example given was the traffic of equipment in waterways and sometimes the complete removal of vegetation that once kept sediment on the field now silt in surface water downstream and causes algae blooms from nutrient runoff.

Speaking with this farmer, I heard the pride in his voice as he talked of his clean water and healthy soils. I could see a strong land ethic both within him and around him on the land that he stewards. Aldo Leopold describes a land ethic as a reflection of an ecological conscience, “and this in turn reflects a conviction of individual responsibility for the health of the land. Health is the capacity of the land for self-renewal. Conservation is our effort to understand and preserve this capacity.”

This farmer intends to hand over this land to a future generation and has worked hard to preserve the health of the land. We have lost many things in this world that can only be read about in history books and told in stories. This farmer is making sure deep soil, diverse wildlife, and a cool dip in a pond on a hot summer day aren’t things of the past, but of the future.

I met a good farmer today, and it made me hopeful that things can be made better.