The Organic Farmer

Amongst the definitions for "organic" in the dictionary are the following:

3. a. denoting a relation between elements of something such that they fit together harmoniously as necessary parts of a whole; fundamental

b. characterized by continuous or natural development

4. resembling a living organism in organization or development

There is also what we traditionally think of when we advertising for "organic" products, that is, goods produced without the use of "chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or other artificial agents." Numerous farms' production fit this description and so are certified organic by the government. Wendell Berry, though he does not disagree with this definition, does believe that to be truly "organic," a farm must also operate in accordance with the other definitions listed above. In his own words:

An organic farm, properly speaking, is not one that uses certain methods and substances and avoids others; it is a farm whose structure is formed in imitation of the structure of a natural system; it has the integrity, the independence, and the benign dependence of an organism.

This statement fits best with definition 4, but throughout the essay it is clear that he means to include definition 3 as well. The farmer and his farm must fit together harmoniously and grow together. Berry is very concerned about the functionality of the farm as well as the harmony, so much of his essay is taken up with pragmatic advice such as, "Agricultural problems should receive solutions that are agricultural, not technological or economic" (36). But at the core of all his advice is the idea that there must be unity between the farmer and his land and/or livestock. The good farmer knows the limits of his soil's ability to support crops and he knows when to let the cows out to pasture and when to feed them grain. He knows how to make the best use of his land and he knows the patterns of the growing seasons. He can see the whole pictures without losing any of the details. "The good health of a farm," says Berry, "depends of the farmer's mind; the good health of his mind has its dependence, and its proof, in physical work" (38). It is a symbiotic relationship.

Berry stresses that the farmer must come to understand the patterns of nature in his farm and that any changes made to the workings of the farm must "improve the balances, symmetries, or harmonies within a pattern" (36). He is advocating working with the land rather than using it. In order to see the patterns and effectively work with the land, a farmer must have what John Burroughs calls Love. It is Love, Burroughs says, that "sharpens the eye, the ear, the touch," and in this way brings the farmer to understand his farm (146). Perhaps this would be putting words in Berry's mouth, but it seems that he would even go so far as to say that a farmer without Love should not be a farmer at all. Burroughs is speaking of Love in terms of simply walking and enjoying the natural world, but it is clear that the same principle applies to farming. "What we love to do," Burroughs says, "that we do well. To know is not all; it only half. To love is the other half" (146). If a farmer knows the land and livestock and he knows what he is supposed to do, this is not enough. He must love them in order to find the patterns that work best. Burroughs speaks of the sharpness of the senses of a lover of nature and their ability to sense the smallest changes and to spot the smallest details. It is these senses, heightened by love, that turn the farmer from one who is just government-certified organic to one who is organic in the deepest way possible.

Articles cited: Berry, Wendell. "Solving for Pattern." Ecological Literacy.

Burroughs, John. "The Art of Seeing." American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau. Ed. Bill McKibben. The Library of America: New York, 2008. 146-159.