BY Kate Proctor
“We limit the possibilities whenever we think we know the answer.” I can’t tell you how much I love this quote from Peter Johnson, also known as Wheat Pete. I have had the opportunity to hear him speak at a couple of meetings this winter, and appreciate this reminder to open my mind and look for the possibilities instead of focusing on the obstacles.
The period from January to the end of March is typically the time of year when there are lots of organized learning opportunities for farmers. Workshops, conferences, and grower appreciation meetings all provide spaces for farmers to get away, learn about the latest research, share ideas, and connect with each other before the hectic growing season starts again.
Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the details, and not exactly forget, but maybe lose sight of the big picture. I am not talking about long-term goals and visions for our own operations, but more of a bigger perspective. I have been reminded of that big picture at a couple of recent meetings.
Wheat Pete reminded grain farmers of the amazingly good news story that is agriculture. Since the 1960s, farmers have increased the amount of food produced by four times, while using only 10 per cent more land. At the beginning of that period, one in three people were food insecure. Today that number is one in 10. While this is still too many, it is a number that we as farmers don’t think about very often, especially when negative headlines always seem to capture attention.
We don’t talk about the Green Revolution very often, at least not in my circles. But the changes that have occurred due to changes in plant genetics, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, controlled irrigation, and improvements in mechanization and technology have allowed us to improve production and efficiency at a rate that we almost take for granted now. While we do face environmental challenges, innovation and thoughtful learning are helping us improve in this area as well.
Two men are credited with making such major advances in plant breeding that their work is considered instrumental in leading the Green Revolution. Norman Borlaug was an American agronomist who led many initiatives. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Congressional Gold Medal. He is one of only seven people to have been awarded all three. He has been called the “father of the Green Revolution”, and is credited by many sources with saving over one billion people worldwide from starvation. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize because his contributions to reducing food insecurity throughout the world were so significant that they helped bring about more actual world peace.
Yuan Longping was another major contributor to the Green Revolution, and is known as the “Father of Hybrid Rice”. For his contributions to improving food security, he was awarded the 2004 World Food Prize and the 2004 Wolf Prize in Agriculture. Yuan also made major contributions because of his determination to share his successes with other countries and to teach farmers in other countries how to grow and cultivate hybrid rice. He has been credited with saving at least as many lives as Borlaug.
While these two men obviously stand out in the area of plant breeding, the passion, devotion, and care taken by countless people around the world have also played a major role in making the changes that we see in agriculture today. As I looked around the rooms at the farmers listening and learning – I saw innovators and experimenters, lots of people who are willing to try new things and probably have more “failures” than successes. But those failures are a stepping stone to success, every one a learning opportunity.
As Wheat Pete reminded us, falling into the trap of thinking we have to do something in a certain way because “we’ve always done it this way” is dangerous thinking. While he suggested these are the “most dangerous words in agriculture,” I would argue they are possibly the most dangerous words in life overall. I fall into this trap myself regularly.
Discovering a way that works can lull us into a false sense of security, and helps us forget to search for better ways. My Dad has always been guided by a desire to discover better ways to do things. Hmm… that worked… ? How can we make it work better? When I get rolling along, doing things this year the same as I did last year because it worked… I try to think of my Dad’s constant desire to improve. I am sure that when he started, he never imagined the improvements in swine genetics that he saw over his career. Most of these improvements did not happen overnight, but were the result of methodical trial and error, tireless record keeping, data analysis, and never accepting the argument that we will continue in this way because this is how we’ve always done it.
Spring is always a time of hope and optimism for farmers - new cropping season, birth and regrowth, a time to start over. Getting out and learning from each other helps with this. Seeing lots of young, passionate faces, sharing ideas with those of us who have been around a bit longer provides a great opportunity to keep the revolution going, tackle challenges, and embrace new ideas for improvement. I am grateful for that opportunity. ◊