May 2019 - 24

GROWER'S POSTCARD
It's all about mindset, dealing with perceptions
SAM HITCHCOCK
TILTON
rcvcfarm@gmail.com
and the last many years have been more
about changing my mindset. " Was this a
farming conference or a Buddhist retreat?
Ray Tyler had started a farm with a
Greetings, dear reader.
It is that time of year when I have
emerged from what has been, at least here
in Wisconsin, one heck of a deep winter.
I am just becoming re-accustomed to
the birds' melodious morning songs, the
warmth of sunrays on my face, and green
grass. What a wondrous time to be alive.
It was in the depths of this past winter
that I attended the Organic Vegetable
Production Conference in Madison,
Wisconsin. This is a unique event that is
planned and taught by farmers. Thank
you particularly to Claire Strader for her
organizing influence. There I enjoyed two
intense days of learning in the company
of vegetable farmers from around the
Midwest who spanned the spectrum of
scale and crop diversity.
The keynote kicked it off, and I was
immediately riveted by a farmer up from
Missouri. What other reaction could I have
when a farmer gets on stage and says " Hello.
A lot of this, guys and gals, is a mind game,
wonderful wife, a large family of children
and no experience. With his crinkled
cowboy hat pushed back on his head,
Ray shared with us that, for him, farming
- and his particular specialty of yearround
production of lettuce - has been
less about the techniques and more about
his mindset. Early on, Ray paid several
experienced farmers to visit his farm and
consult. From these visits his deepest
lesson was trying to understand what he,
his wife, and his children each needed
from their farm, and what they each could
give to it. " Farming is not worth putting
your family on the line. " Ray's bright smile,
frequent jokes and infectious enthusiasm
burnished his words when he said, " it is so
important that we can find and maintain
joy in what we do every day. "
Chris Blanchard often compared farms
to 2-year olds, saying, " If you don't set limits
they will just demand all of your attention. "
And Ray closed his address by expanding
upon Chris' metaphor: " At first the farm is
like a baby - it needs you 24/7 - it can't do
anything for itself. But, hopefully, as your
farm grows older it has more independence,
and it can use the toilet and ties its shoes,
cooks for itself . . . until finally you just need
to call it on the phone a few times per year. "
Yeah, we in the audience all laughed at
the end there, too.
I listened with laser focus
to Jason's exposition,
trying both to understand
his concept of privilege,
and to square it with
my own reason and
experience.
Next to the podium was a farmer from
northern Wisconsin who markets into
Minneapolis. Jason Mont began his talk
by identifying himself: " I am a white, cisgendered,
English speaking man. " I was
not sure why such personal identification
was an appropriate way to begin a farming
presentation. Jason then spoke about his
experience bringing children from deep
in the city out to his farm. After an hour
and a half on the bus, the 9-year-olds
enjoy a full day of farm activities put on
by him and his neighboring farmers. By
describing this program, Jason introduced
us to a bigger idea.
Recently, I have heard the word
FULL RANGE OF SPRAYERS
for Farm, Nursery & Landscape
privilege used in a more political way, but
while I feel it is often assumed by others
that I understand this concept, no one
has ever really introduced me to it. And
so I listened with laser focus to Jason's
exposition, trying both to understand his
concept of privilege, and to square it with
my own reason and experience.
In speaking of how he and his wife left
salaried jobs in the city for farming, Jason
said, " We have privilege; we're white with
professional degrees. And as white people
we have access to many things. " Farming
sure is hard enough, yet even so it is harder
for some than others.
But as I listened part of me felt attacked.
I've got to say, as someone who is on the
lucky side of privilege, it can be hard to
hear my privilege pointed at. It can make
me feel that people are saying I didn't earn
what I have, or I haven't worked hard. Also,
I find this entire subject very difficult to talk
about for fear of saying the wrong thing and
hurting someone else's feelings.
I was glad to catch Jason in the hallway
after his talk for a one-on-one conversation.
The first thing he did was acknowledge that
privilege is indeed hard to talk about, but
that " it is through mistakes that we learn. "
I told him why I felt defensive at the idea
that just the color of my skin makes me
privileged. While I have received a lot of
breaks, how can I assume the same about
everyone with white skin?
But as we spoke in a friendly and
understanding way, Jason opened my
eyes to the bigger picture, where an
immediate example of privilege was the
conference itself. At a table off to the
side of the stage people sat translating
each presenter's words into Hmong
and Spanish. Among the crowd were
scattered Hmong and Spanish-speaking
farmers wearing headphones. The
translators were granting these farmers
access to this fantastic conference,
whereas I can go to any conference and
expect that not only can I understand
it, but I'll easily communicate with
everyone there.
That is some privilege, and one that
I would like to extend widely to others.
Because, as is said throughout the Old
Testament, " once I too was a stranger in a
strange land. "
I then had some understanding
for why Jason had started his talk
identifying himself as a " white, cisgendered,
English speaking man. " He
wanted to acknowledge the various
privileges granted him just by his
identity, and in doing so perhaps make
some other people in the audience
with less understood identities feel
more welcome.
This column began with my intention
of sharing the techniques that I learned at
the conference, but instead I have written
about changing my mindset - which I
suppose is more important. VGN
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May 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May 2019
