I initially went into my Beyond the Classroom Experience looking for opportunities to understand and find solutions to the problems within our food systems by taking in as much information from Montanan farmers as possible. While I’ve developed a more nuanced perspective on sustainable agriculture and the problems farmers face, both locally and globally, I am uncertain about the best solutions to the negative impacts of pollution, climate change, soil degradation, etc. This has motivated me to seek out more agricultural experiences in the future, to allow my perspective to continue to be shaped by both the physical nature of daily labor and the educational wisdom of the many leaders in sustainable agriculture.

My theme of resources and sustainability has allowed me to focus on how the PEAS farm participates in Missoula’s local food system, as well as how Montana’s regional food system challenges the dominant industrialized global food system. This experience within agriculture has also given me the opportunity to understand how my specific global challenge connects to the GLI’s other themes, from the variety of technologies used alongside traditional cultural agriculture practices, to the relationships between ecological and human health that the many farmers I met are developing.

My experience on the PEAS farm has confirmed and reinforced my desire to engage with sustainable agriculture as a leader. Working on the PEAS farm has taught me that education and community are essential aspects to my passion for fostering positive relationships and change in people and our environment. In disposition, I intend for the confidence and willingness to grow and take on new responsibilities that I built over this summer to continue changing throughout the rest of my time in the GLI. I also have a more tangible appreciation for examining the context of a culture of people and the land they interact with in a direct, often physical manner, especially because my challenge is rooted in aspects of culture that represent one of our most intimate relationships with the landscape.  

During this summer experience, I also learned what it means to be in a team in a socially encompassing context spending hours a day together, as well as the skills to motivate each other during our highs and lows. The trust between my peers and instructors over time developed a desire to impress and improve for the sake of everyone’s enjoyment. With hard work, I couldn’t only show my best, surface level self, I had to be vulnerable and recognize when I needed to take care of myself so that I could be more effective and empathetic.

Seeing the diversity of approaches to sustainability in agriculture in a dozen or so farms has taught me the numerous ways farmers need multiple solutions to support each one’s own unique economic and environmental conditions within their situations. On one field trip to eastern Montana, my group visited two large-scale farms with vastly different approaches to sustainability and soil health. One farmer ascribed to no-till practices but relied on targeted herbicide usage to keep down weed pressure, and resultingly had to remediate the soil with extensive inoculants. The other farmer was organically growing food but relied on tillage to keep down weed and pest pressure, risking a long-term decline in soil fertility. Both farmers, however, were attempting to sustain a robust, healthy soil biology on the landscape with the tools and knowledge that had become available over the course of their lives. I’ve learned so much about the challenges all farmers face today within our food system. The numerous deviations from conventional large-scale agriculture, despite the difficulties in making a living or finding a market while remaining sustainable, is what makes the Montana farmers I met excellent leaders. Each one carries an intimate and responsible relationship as stewards of both the landscape and people.