Reflections on the Soil and Water Conservation Society Annual Conference

There’s a quote from researcher Brené Brown about “being in the arena.” Brown says that she’s not interested in the opinion of others who aren’t “in the arena also getting their ass kicked.” It tracks. I don’t want advice on risk taking from someone who has never taken a risk. At the same time, I find myself slow to criticize others who are doing work that I’m not doing, as I’m not “in the arena.” Since I’m not in the arena of large conference organizing, I’ve hesitated to share my experience at the SWCS Annual Conference. But here's the thing…I am absolutely in the arenas of conservation and soil health, getting my ass kicked, and earning the stripes that afford me an opinion.

                I will start with the positives. There were a lot of passionate people doing very important work at this conference. Researchers, students, professors, government workers and data analysts were all well represented. I value the work that these folks do in most cases. They are one aspect of improving our agricultural future. One researcher looked at how the environmental impact of farmers in a specific metropolitan area could be reduced if they diversified growing more than just corn and soybeans. It’s important to run these numbers, no doubt.

                Another important aspect of agriculture is understanding why farmers aren’t taking the initiative to do these things on their own accord. And there was a startling lack of farmers at this conference. Out of over 400 registrants, I was 1 of 13 farmers. Part of this may be a timing issue- let’s schedule our farming conferences in February, shall we? But what if there’s more to it than that? What if the idea of being studied and corrected by people who aren’t “in the arena” is off-putting to farmers? I’m not sure what the exact reason is, but there’s a major disconnect between the people researching agricultural practices and the boots on the ground doing the actual work.

                Next elephant in the room- how can we have a serious conversation about conservation when the major sponsor of this event is a leading producer of chemical pesticides and proponent of GMO seeds? Described by Vandana Shiva as one of “the five chemical giants seek[ing] to completely dominate our food system,” this company is known for many nefarious activities, including recent fines from the EPA. When I see their logo, I immediately hear Rage Against the Machine’s “Know Your Enemy” playing in my head. Since they were the main sponsor, their “stewardship” representative got to give a speech, in which she stated that we simply can not grow food without chemical fertilizers and pesticides. It took a level of self-control I didn’t know I had to keep my mouth shut.

                Immediately after her address, in a move that nearly gave me whiplash, keynote speaker David Montgomery said that we do need fertilizers and pesticides- but only in soils that have been so badly depleted of biological life that they couldn’t possibly produce crops on their own. He then went on to explain the basics of soil biology and how they create soil health and feed our crops. Thank you, David.

                All in all, it was a mixed bag. I met some really incredible people whose hearts and minds are absolutely in the right place. But I remain convinced that we can not make serious headway in conservation and soil health until we are completely decoupled from the corporate interests that stand for the exact opposite. It is imperative that we create spaces that do not allow these companies to co-opt conservation space in order to greenwash their image. Dynamic partnerships and compromise are necessary, of course, but who we make these partnerships with is essential.

                So who can we partner with instead of S*ngenta? How about mycologists? And this means mycologists need to start understanding the soil aspect of mycology and showing up to these events. We don’t have to be the ones getting our asses kicked in the arena- we can be the ones kicking ass.