Small Farming and the Ivy League

Five years ago, I graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelor’s degree, and today, I am an organic vegetable farmer. My daily tasks involve planting, weeding, harvesting, shoveling, pushing around rocks, and a thousand other intensely physical activities. In the past, people who have learned that I am a Columbia alumna and a farmer have wondered aloud, bluntly or politely, whether I needed to go to a school like Columbia in order to pursue my chosen career. I don’t know that I did (although how could it possibly hurt to have a good education and a degree?)—but college is where the idea was first planted in my brain. It was done by accident, and it’s funny to me to think that an accident led me to a career in a very important and rapidly growing field (get it?). If Columbia were teaching entire classes on the subject of sustainable agriculture, who knows how many intelligent and capable people we could add to that movement?

I majored in Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, a very broad field within which I had difficulty finding a focus; there were just too many subjects that interested me. I took a random assortment of classes that sounded interesting to me and filled my degree requirements. One of my senior year classes required me to write an essay on a topic of my choice—I chose the adverse environmental effects of large-scale livestock farms. As I researched the topic, my indignation grew over how destructive these farms were to everyone involved save the corporation that owned them, especially when the alternative seemed like such a win-win situation: local, organic, small-scale farms. My interest led me to an internship with Just Food, a non-profit in the city that connects local food producers to those that want local food in the city, and from there, I began to learn about what was going on with the local, organic, small-scale farms I’d read about. I graduated, and, uncertain of what to do with myself, I apprenticed on a farm, and since then, I’ve done almost nothing else.

As I said before, usually the next question I get after informing someone that I am a farmer and went to Columbia is: did you need to go to Columbia? Lately, the question has changed to: did you study agriculture at Columbia? As if the idea of someone going from an Ivy League school into what is perceived as a physical job requiring little education is not quite as crazy as it seemed just a few years ago. I’m not that surprised. After all, the popularity of organic, local food is spreading as more and more information about its health and environmental benefits comes to light. The job of a farmer is becoming appreciated again—a lot of people I talk to express interest and even envy at my chosen line of work (although usually those people have never done actual farm labor. Weeding in the garden might be fun, but try weeding 500 feet of carrots!).

I don’t think it’s strange to go to school for one thing and then choose a completely different path upon graduating, and I don’t think it’s inappropriate to spend time getting an education before sticking one’s hands in the dirt. Most of the young people I have worked with over the years have had a degree or were in the process of getting one, and most of these people were studying subjects far less pertinent to farming than . Perhaps what is not evident to those who question the relevance of a degree is that farming is not purely physical work; it takes all sorts of intelligence and skills that very few people have (I say that hoping I am one of them). Owning and operating a farm requires great observation, a very good sense of business, creativity, resourcefulness, patience, and leadership, to name a few characteristics. Not all of these things can be taught, but I think some of them can, or at least they can be honed by a good college education.

It’s up to colleges and universities to realize this and take action, whether they are in urban, suburban, or rural environs. There are many things about growing food that can only be taught by actually doing them, but there are plenty of things that a student can learn beforehand, whether or not he or she plans on becoming a farmer. An extensive knowledge of sustainable food issues would not go amiss as the world prepares itself for looming environmental and health crises. It is amazing how many of these problems can be addressed by a change to a local, organic food system: the preservation of land, watersheds, species, and habitat, a reduction in our reliance on fossil fuels, increased health through better diet and more exercise, and the preservation and stimulation of local economies and communities. These are only the most obvious benefits, and they apply to communities all over the world. The more people we have who are aware and supportive of these issues, the better our future will be, and as more and more people attend college, it is the perfect place to introduce them to these ideas and to a bit of practical experience in understanding where food comes from.

The author is a member of the Columbia College class of 2004.