Agricultural Awareness

At Leafhopper Farm, a small stream, Weiss Creek, dissects the landscape down the southern slope of the property. This modest water feature continues down into Sonqualmie River, which feeds into The Snohomish, and on into Puget Sound, then north through The Wanda Fuca Straight to The Pacific Ocean. Water permeates all things on this earth, and we are made up of a staggering 60% H2O. If the water in our streams, rivers, and oceans are polluted, how’s the body doing? Chemicals are permeable in water, and come into all bodies of water, including the plants and animals we eat. You may have a water filter on your well, or even your kitchen faucet, but do you have one on your meals too? This is a core foundation at Leafhopper Farm, and the fundamental practice of holistic agriculture. You are what you eat and drink, and folks, the diet of planet earth is increasingly toxic. Forget climate change as “the boy who cried wolf”, we’ve already got a serial killer in our midst and its name is consumerism.

Where it hits home the most to me is still the water, because that’s a tester for the world’s blood, not just the H2O, but also Hemobloben. Our runoff water from farming is clogging the waterways, turning thriving aquatic landscapes into “dead zones”-actual places with no life, because common soil fertilizers has saturated our water tables. There is no debate about this, and summer algae blooms are the inconvenient tip of the iceberg. And to shatter, then sink a titanic myth perpetuating this abusive agricultural practice of industrial fertilizer mega-farming genocide; we’re not feeding the world from America’s breadbasket, we’re feeding a commercial industry of livestock and transport, a Leviathan of truly hideous decent for our consumer needs.

From fast food to your uber lyft, the engines that run America are fueling monopoly on all our dreams as a nation, now acting on frustration. We’re griping about Mellennials, who are now 30 by the way, as a generation of teenagers we’re calling the right to life march, that’s a wake-up call. But back to agriculture; this farm, a place where no industrial chemical fertilizers are used, the soil is generating some wonderful productivity, endless abundance, and more to come. It’s small, not commercial, but focused on food and health as a baseline of action.

The research on unsustainable agricultural practices is mounting, though current administration response continues to lag, and we’re running out of time. This TED talk with scientist Nancy Rabalais, explains how phosphates and nitrogen run off are killing our water systems, and she goes on to clarify what our industrial agriculture is up to, besides continuing to toot their horns about feeding the world, which they don’t.

Farmers are held hostage by the companies that control them. Ask potato farmers in Idaho who really makes the call on what kind of spuds to plant. Ask chicken farmers in Missouri who own their chickens, it’s not the farmer. Add suicide statistics to the list and you’ll quickly see why farms are disappearing across our country, but the pollution only grows. Please, if you can, find a local farmer and ask how you can support them. Look into conservation efforts along rivers and streams in your area. Do your own part to buy less toxic food, materials, and think about how to lighten your footprint on this earth.

At Leafhopper Farm, we have volunteered a larger stream buffer, and put it into a long term lease with USDA to protect salmon habitat and our water. We do not use sprays that are not totally biodegradable, like whey or vinegar. Neem oil has also come into our list of approved garden and orchard “chemical” support. All of these are totally organic and safe in small doses. That’s another secret, staying small. I may not be feeding a nation, but I am giving the nation clean air, water, and soil; investments with a sure return for a future of health and happiness. May we all continue to have this shared vision, and work to better the environment which supports all life, including ours.