“From a distance, harvesting beans looks peaceful. Delicate spinning sickle bars sweep pods, stems, and leaves into the hidden chambers of the combine…”
This is from page 158 of Sandra Steingraber’s work…and coupled with our class weekend at Shalom Hill Farm and my own reflections on my little corner of the world in Wisconsin, I have thought a lot about impact of the family farm over the years Currently, we live on a farm that neighbors a portion of what was once my family’s 360 acre dairy farm. While less than ½ of this is still in the family, the evidence of what was done is still very noticeable if you get your boots on the ground and start hiking the country side.
Next to my current home, a small stream flows northward toward the Buffalo River. When I was a child, this steam was filled with brown trout. I remember hearing stories of all the people who fished it over the years. The stream itself was fed by springs and runoff from the bluffs. However, it always seemed as though the stream actually started on the southwest corner of my family farm.
Further back in the valley where my grandparents house stood, my grandfather and great uncle dug a trench down the middle of the valley all the way to the steam on the west end of the property. This ‘unnamed man made creek’ served an important purpose at the time. It drained the swamp/marsh land making it possible to plant corn over acres and acres of land.
Forgive us for what we do not know. Now, I am not blaming my grandfather for not having the foresight of what was going to happen. Yet, it is easy to see what the years of farm runoff have done. Countless chemicals and animal waste have fed through that trench to the stream. The steam is now very shallow, muddy, and there are no fish.
It is really sad.
If there is a positive side, all of the land that was once corn around those streams and trenches is now habitat for deer, pheasants, ducks, and numerous other creatures. Yet, I can’t help but wonder what may be in the soil still that could cause long term health issues for animals, plants, and eventually humans.
Living Downstream has helped to discern some of what Shalom Hill and this course have made me think about. Earth care is so central to my ever evolving faith and theology.
