However, it is hard for us here to not feel neglected when we read about all
of the great sustainable/organic/small farm things going on in Missouri,
Michigan, North Carolina, and some of the northeastern states. For a state
full of small farms, our state ag seems to be focused on the wrong
production schemes. This may have more to do with a lack of strong sust/org
leadership than anything else.
I really agree with the comments by Kendra Wise and Steve Groff. It just
takes extra effort for producers to educate the educators. It is always
easier to gripe about the differences. But if we are following a different
farming paradigm, we ourselves should be accustomed to educating. Just
about all of our dealings with others require some sort of education. I
have to tell the feed mill why I don't want to use their antibiotics in my
feed. And we have to educate our customers in order to foster sales growth.
And I certainly hope that extension doesn't go the way of the Flight Service
Stations. Several years ago in a cost-cutting move, the FAA started
consolidating the local Flight Service Stations. They eliminated the local
weather technicians and substituted gathering weather data by automated
equipment. Now, pilots have to call a central telephone number and talk to
a technician who could be hundreds of miles away, to find out what local
weather conditions are, and are projected to be. I really value the local
contact I have with my local extension agent, and would hate to lose that.
It is hard to substitute hands-on pasture walks with computer screen data
summaries.
Grace to you,
Ralph
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