Share Your Story Of Environmental Stewardship

As I wrote this column, Earth day, which is celebrating its 45th anniversary, was quickly approaching. The annual holiday, which is celebrated April 22 every year, is honored in more than 192 countries worldwide in an effort to demonstrate support for environmental protection.

Lauren Alexander

Lauren Alexander

As a grower, I know you are fully aware of the importance of guarding natural resources and protecting the environment, because the livelihood of your business depends on it. Without access to water, fuel, healthy soil, and so many other “earthly” elements, growing quality crops would be impossible.

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Because the drought in California has received so much attention recently, the public has focused its collective gaze on agriculture and is asking some pretty tough questions. In an article published by Slate titled “The Thirsty West: 10 Percent of California’s Water Goes to Almond Farming” the author points the finger at “money hungry” agriculture for guzzling down nearly all of California’s water with thirsty almond crops. The article was shared more than 13,000 times on Facebook, and spread across Twitter and LinkedIn as well. That’s a significant amount of negative press.

Because I’ve talked to many of you and learned about your efforts to conserve water and better manage other resources, I know this author is only providing one, perhaps slightly biased, perspective on agriculture’s role in the drought.

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As someone who knows the value of agriculture in this country and likes to promote your positive efforts, it’s hard to watch stories like this take the spotlight. I know you are making the effort to conserve natural resources and be good stewards of the land, and it’s time to put those stories front and center in the eyes of the public.

One of the subjects of the May cover story, Bryan Jones of Riverdale Potato Farm in St. Augustine, FL, is a shining example of how agriculture and environmental stewardship can coexist. Jones’ operation is only 100 yards away from the St. Johns River — a heritage river protected by the state — and he has adopted an entirely new method of irrigation, eliminating runoff from his operation into the river, and dramatically reduced water and his fertilizer usage.

Jones’ motivation for being a good steward of the land is quite simple: to ensure the land he farms will continue to thrive for generations to come.

For those needing a jump start to improve conservation practices, the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Services’ Conservation Stewardship Program offers financial assitance to improve existing conservation efforts and adopt additional activities.

Is there something your operation is currently doing to protect the environment and ensure future generations of farming? If so, drop me a line and tell me about it. These are the stories we want to share with the public.

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