Yes you heard it right, that corporate term is being used right here by your farmers. We do have a budget each year for professional development whether that is books, a conference, or special equipment/seeds which we want to try. As a farmer you have to love learning and more importantly be very open to learning. Each moment has something to teach us and especially the toughest moments on the farm when we have failures. We as farmers cannot get ourselves down when we fail but look to what there is to learn from that moment and the insight which can inform the future. Your farmers are headed to one of the biggest and most encompassing sustainable/organic farming conferences in the country, it is called Moses. We are very excited to meet other young farmers and learn from them as well as gain wisdom from our older farmer friends. I know Katie is excited about all the soils, fertility, and pest management workshops she will be going to. I am excited about the other half of the farm such as equipment, new technology, and techniques which will help us be more sustainable both environmentally and economically. I look forward to chatting with other experienced growers and hearing what they do, their challenges, ideas, and innovation but all taking it with a grain of salt knowing that our conditions, market, and soil here all demand something different than anywhere else. That listening to the land is one of the beautiful parts of farming. You have to be open to change your plans to be in line with the place or you risk failing completely. As an engineer I love innovating and efficiency and it is a think I think about all the time as we work each season, how can this be done better and with less inputs for example. But I also have a secret love of cover crops and I look forward to geeking out over them with other farmers. Cover crops are so eloquent in their function, how they cover the soil and keep it from eroding, contribute much organic matter and sometimes nitrogen, hold moisture, increase diversity and many other functions. As farmers we have a lifetime of learning ahead of us, and that is a beautiful thing! As it is all about the journey not the destination. Cheers! Nic |