Stories of the Land: Diverse Agricultural Histories in the U.S.

Practice

An image of large containers of liquid that says Industry, Method, Philosophy.

In the daily lives of farmers, the act of calling someone a "good farmer" is an acknowledgement of appreciation and status within the community. It is not a title given lightly. Rather it bestows on the individual recognition of the cultural competences that make a farmer worthy of being sought out by others for assistance – knowledge, skills, or material assistance – the provision of which, in turn, forms bonds of mutual obligation within farming communities. It is the centre of the farming culture.

—The Good Farmer: Culture and Identity in Food and Agriculture (2022)²³

How do we judge agricultural practice? What is “good farming”? What issues do we prioritize? Environmentalism? Productivity and food access? Oftentimes there is tension between industrial approaches and sustainable practices. Agricultural ethics offers some insight into how different stakeholders tackle these questions. This field is concerned with issues relating to the cultivation, production, and distribution of farmed goods and products, as discussed in philosopher Ronald Sandler’s work, “Virtue Theory, Food, and Agriculture.” “In agricultural ethics,” writes Sandler, “it is often claimed that farming promotes good character traits – e.g., self-reliance, fortitude, and patriotism – and that virtues such as diligence, ecological sensitivity, and patience are central to good agricultural practice.” ²⁴

“Practice” ties together many of the other anchors in this exhibit: the Environmental impacts of specific farming methods, the personal philosophies that inform ideas about Land and Political action, the influence of industry on agricultural Work and farming Cultures. Many of the programs in this anchor explore alternatives to large-scale agriculture through sustainable and organic practices, while others illuminate different industries and models of farming that develop in response to environmental and social conditions. Through the concepts of Industry, Method, and Philosophy, this section demonstrates the varied practices involved in agriculture—and how agriculture as a practice is connected to larger ethical considerations.

The radio and television broadcasts under Industry highlight ongoing interests in and concerns about the modernization of agriculture. From discussions of aquacultural developments to debates concerning corporate agribusiness, the featured items demonstrate a diverse range of agricultural practices, many of which have developed out of mindsets formed in the early twentieth century.²⁵

Debates about industry ultimately lead to debates about Method: how should farming be practiced on the ground? The broadcasts featured in this section reflect how public media, its audiences, and those involved in farm work have reacted over the past half century to new technological and scientific developments, exploring early organic farms as well as following a community shifting from subsistence to market agriculture.

Agricultural practice is informed by Philosophy; ethical and value-driven decisions have considerably impacted how farming has evolved as an industry. The programs in this section consider a range of farming philosophies, from stewardship practices driven by a deep sense of community and tradition to ecologically conscious valuations of local resources. Philosophy also connects to the small family farm: a model often featured at the heart of agricultural debate as this way of life continues to diminish in the rural landscape.

Industry

A 1972 episode of The Advocates shows images and video from a large factory farm before convening a debate on the place of large corporations in agriculture.

The Advocates, episode 98, “Should large corporations be driven out of farming?” (WGBH, Boston, MA, March 28, 1972).

The Advocates was a public affairs television show that featured a modified debate format: a question would be argued from two sides, with advocates and witnesses testifying in favor of or against a proposal, and the viewing audience would submit their votes on the decision. This episode covers the issue of corporate agribusiness, which was fast becoming one of the dominant forces in the agricultural sector as family farmers were leaving their farms by choice or by force. “Large financial conglomerates are farming rural America for a harvest of dollars,” argues advocate Howard Miller,” “and leaving behind them enormous human costs which we all pay for.” The opposition, led by William Rusher, contends that pushing corporations out of farming would “turn back the clock of American agriculture fifty years.” In the debate that follows, senators, watchdogs, farmers, economists, and professors debate the very nature of agriculture: Should we prioritize human capital or economic productivity?

Montana Medicine Show, “Thomas Campbell” (KGLT, Bozeman, Montana, date unknown).

This brief radio broadcast tells the story of Thomas Campbell, “the Wheat King of America,” who was one of the leading proponents of large-scale industrial agriculture in the early twentieth century—quoting Campbell: “Mechanization is the farmer’s answer to the Weather.” Through Campbell’s story—developing the world’s largest wheat farm in Hardin, Montana; leasing arid land on the Crow Reservation for development; advising agriculturalists in Russia, England, and France—and through his own words, the program demonstrates the Rhetorical appeals of industrial agriculture, invoking the ideals of efficiency, scale, and abundance. Critics, however, would note that “Campbell single-handedly killed the family farm,” according to the broadcast, forever impacting the small-scale Philosophy.

Focus 580, “Aquaculture” (WILL Illinois Public Media, Urbana, May 15, 2001). The topic of this Champaign, Illinois, call-in radio program, the aquaculture industry or "fish farming," might not often come to mind when thinking about examples of agriculture. Host David Inge speaks with biologist Dr. Rebecca Goldberg about different aquaculture systems—tank-raised fish housed in barns, net pens in marine coastal waters, catfish ponds in the southeast, oyster beds in the Long Island Sound—emphasizing the diverse practices, species, and environments that make up aquaculture. They also discuss the Environmental conditions affecting the industry, from the world-wide depletion of wild fish stocks to animal waste and oceanic pollution.

“Marijuana Economics: The Pros and Cons of California’s Cash Crop” (Commonwealth Club of California, Hoover Institution Library & Archives, July 30, 2009).

This radio broadcast is a record of a 2009 meeting of Inforum, a division of the Commonwealth Club of California that hosts events and discussions for people in their 20s and 30s. This panel presentation and Q&A focused on the issue of the marijuana industry—specifically highlighting the “fiscal aspects” of the crop rather than moral or ethical questions about marijuana use. Panelists include a local police chief, psychiatrist, and a civil liberties organizer who frame their Rhetorical debate around a discussion of cost standpoints, potential lawsuits, and tax revenues.

Method

Panelists take calls from Iowa farms requesting information on sustainable agriculture in this Alternatives in Agriculture Call-In broadcast (1989).

“Bush Farming - An Alternative” (KYUK, Bethel, AK, date unknown).

This special program examines alternative farming methods in communities around Aniak, Alaska. Known as an area with especially rich Soil, the farmland along the river is the site of many projects promoted by the Kuskokwim Native Association (KNA). Lowell Lambert, a KNA project director, discusses some of those upcoming plans: hog rearing, solar greenhouses, dairying, climate-controlled potato and seed storage, and more. With dwindling game and other Resources in the area, local communities struggled to support themselves through subsistence hunting and farming methods. The KNA ultimately promotes new farming practices as a means of supporting local markets and access to food.

MPR News Feature, “Minnesota Organic Farmer Gives a Tour of His Fields” (Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul, October 2, 1975).

This radio program follows Earl Cunningham as he leads journalists, an agricultural economist, and a citizen member of a pesticide task force on a tour of his property to highlight the natural farming methods he’s incorporated over the years: crop rotation, the application of mineral-based Soil conditioner, and more. Cunningham discusses how these methods have become a part of his personal Philosophy, using particularly evocative language and religious Rhetoric to emphasize his belief in the need for organic, natural farming methods and his deep concern about a potential Crisis involving chemical agriculture: “You can’t worship the Creator on Sunday and go out and prostitute His soil on Monday.”

Alternatives in Agriculture Call-In (Iowa Public Television, Johnston, March 3, 1989).

In this television broadcast, viewers from around Iowa call in to a live panel with questions for agriculturalists, rural program directors, organic farmers, organizers, and Soil scientists. The program includes conversations about potential drought responses and Weather conditions, weed management, orchard maintenance, and more. Ultimately, the host asserts that sustainable alternatives should be thought about as “improving the bottom line,” using the Rhetoric of Industry to make a case for why alternative methods actually are more viable than chemical treatments and pesticides.

“GMO: Label or Not?” (Commonwealth Club of California, Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford, CA, October 25, 2012).

“Until we have more resolution there, it’s the least we can do—is to give people the right to know, let them look at a label.” So says Ken Cook, director of the Environmental Working Group out of Washington, D.C. Cook was one of four panelists discussing California Proposition 37, which would require food to carry a label if it included genetically altered products. Cook’s argument is that, since the long-term impact of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) hasn’t been tested, consumer awareness is an important step in food production. Opponents of the proposition argued that labels would lead to increased food prices, cause undo public confusion given a lack of scientific evidence of harm, and aren’t necessary since the products have been reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration. Ultimately, the panelists consider the broader question: What are the Environmental consequences of the cultivation and Harvest of genetically modified products?

Philosophy

Featured Item

Residents of San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, discuss their agricultural philosophy and connections to tradition in this radio broadcast from KUNM-Albuquerque. "San Juan Pueblo - Rio Grande Famers Version" (KUNM, 1994) (item below).

Local Issue, “Death of a Small Farm” (KUON-TV, Lincoln, Nebraska, National Educational Television, September 10, 1967).

As far back as the mid-twentieth century, media broadcasts have speculated about the fate of the family farm. More than a model of agriculture, the family farm is a lifestyle often tied to philosophical ideas of Stewardship, self-sufficiency, and a locally-focused perspective. The 1967 broadcast out of Lincoln, Nebraska, adds to that Rhetoric, calling the family farm an “institution,” the “King of American Agriculture,” and connecting it to the social and economic health of rural communities. Reporter R. Neale Copple focuses on the shift towards larger, consolidated, and specialized farming while lamenting the Movement of workers from farms to cities. Later broadcasts in this collection explore how family farms became subsumed by larger agribusiness and corporate farming, but the “uprooting” and “exodus” of the Youth (to use the Rhetoric of this broadcast) seems to be one of the prime anxieties at this stage in the industry’s history. Copple ends on a note of optimism: just as the “shiny, powerful tractor” replaced the horse, so, too, will the old style of farming be replaced by a more productive, prosperous model, confirming an Industrial mindset even as he mourns the decline of the family farm.

“San Juan Pueblo – Rio Grande Farmers Version” (KUNM, Albuquerque, New Mexico, ca. 1994).

This radio broadcast considers the Methods and philosophy of farmers living in the San Juan Pueblo of New Mexico as they navigate the balance between traditional agricultural practice and new Methods and technology. The San Juan Agricultural Cooperative, formed in part to support tribal income, has incorporated new technology such as a solar dryer and dehydrator in their green chili production, while others in the community have sought to preserve old melon seeds: heirlooms that had been passed down through generations. “We look back at the old ways and say: What was it that we used to do that built a lot of the harmony and the value system what our tribe was based on?“ says Joe Garcia, governor of the Pueblo. “So we looked back and said farming was one of them. And that’s the down-to-earth thing—we’re working our hands; we’re forming communal groups.”

Tobacco Blues (dir. Christine Fugate, Café Sisters Productions and KET, 1997).

More than a program on the tobacco Industry, this documentary, which was broadcast on the PBS series POV, is an exploration of the lives of Kentucky tobacco farmers as issues of public health, financial stability, morality, family tradition, and Politics collide. It underscores the differences between corporate tobacco and the farmers who are often the ones to feel the unequal economic impact of regulation. But behind these conversations is the shifting social perception of smoking as well as the broader question: Who is ethically implicated in the cultivation of potentially harmful substances?

Florida Matters, episode 3, “Going Green in Florida” (WUSF, Tampa, FL, February 13, 2009).

The first segment of this episode explores urban approaches to sustainability through small-scale agriculture. Here, sustainability is tied to a local philosophy: relying on food and other Resources that are close to home in order to minimize global shipping and transport emissions. Jim Kovaleski lives in the suburbs of New Port Richey, Florida, and has transformed his yard into productive farmland, albeit on a smaller scale. In his interview for the program, Kovaleski couches his project as “farming” rather than just gardening, expanding ideas about Land use and sustainability while exploring new applications of permaculture, natural pesticides, and local foraging and Harvest in unexpected Places.