By Ilana McGrath, Student, Washington State University
To support the future generation of sustainable agriculture, CSANR sponsors travel for students to attend the Tilth Conference. Over the next several weeks, we will showcase student experiences at the this year’s conference held in Vancouver, WA. View this year’s and previous years’ reflections via the CSANR Tilth page.
My name is Ilana McGrath and I am a junior at Washington State University majoring in Organic and Sustainable Agriculture. My decision to go to Vancouver, WA, and attend this year’s Tilth Conference was something of a spur-of-the-moment decision—when I realized it would be a much better use of my time than spending yet another weekend studying at home—much like my choice of major, as I grew up in the suburbs with no background in agriculture. On both accounts, I’m glad I made the decision that I did.
I didn’t know what to expect at the conference, but because it is a hopefully-not-pipedream of mine to eventually own and operate a small farm somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, I was excited for the more practical sessions like those on farm link programs in Washington and Oregon and on National Resource Conservation Service support for organic and transitional producers. I greatly enjoyed the free coffee and half & half all day long every day, but the most memorable experience of the conference for me was the keynote speaker, Helen Atthowe, who I found quite interesting when she addressed us all on Friday night.
She told us about the lessons she learned while managing her own farm using her background in scientific research. Since I would like to put my education to some use, the suggestion that the more academic parts of it could also be useful in the future is exciting. The most interesting part of her talk to me, though, was admittedly the simple fact that low nitrogen, high carbon soil resulted in more nutritious and appealingly colored peaches on her farm, which I had never heard of before. I am particularly interested in tree fruit production but have no background in it outside of my time at WSU; It goes to show the importance of exposure to other people in the field, especially those with more knowledge and experience than you.
While the conference meals left those of us used to more protein a bit hungry, it was fun to spend time at the conference around like-minded and very unlike-minded people with similar interests, and to juxtapose my education in organic and sustainable agriculture against the experiences of people actively involved in the industry as producers and in other ways. I also found it encouraging to be around people who were running sustainable farms, because it goes to show that my goals are not as impossible as those people who are disappointed that I don’t want to be a doctor or lawyer would like me to think. There’s a community of people out there passionate about agriculture—and doing it in a way that is sustainable and healthy—and though we may not all agree on everything, I’m happy to be a part of it. That was my main takeaway.
Comments
We are so thrilled that you decided to come to the Tilth conference! It is very important to me personally that you chose to attend. When I was at the Ag school in Pullman, (in the mid ’70’s) I was a lonely odd duck out. So few young people that didn’t grow up in farming families that are now thinking about entering farming attend the College of Ag, and I believe the science background is critical. It is important because there is so much to learn about growing food, and perhaps more importantly, we need you to advocate for biological in research, teaching and extension to your professors, fellow students and future colleagues.
If you have any interest in joining up with Tilth or the Center for Sustaining Ag and Natural Resources (CSANR) please feel free to contact me any time!