A Piece of Eden
Spread out on two acres of rolling green Cal Poly land in between the rodeo arena and the dairy unit sits the Cal Poly Student Experimental Farm. From the outside looking in, the farm looks peaceful and quaint. But when inside the fence, it becomes clear that there is more than what meets the eye. The Cal Poly Student Experimental Farm is more complex than it seems. With vermicular bins, composting areas, raised agricultural beds growing on newspaper pages, and straw and mud dwellings, the farm is a bustling organic and agriculturally sustainable piece of land. The location of the land is unique as well. When searching for a home for the farm, the founders craved a challenge. In the location they chose, the founders acquired what they wanted. The farm sits in a partof the Cal Poly valley that acts as a wind tunnel. The founders knew it would be a challenge to grow crops in such a windy area, but after working all over the world establishing farms for the Peace Corps, they knew they could succeed.
The Cal Poly Experimental farm was established in 1989 as a way to educate
students and the public about sustainable agriculture and to provide organic fruits
and vegetables to the community. This method of farming is called community supported
agriculture. Produce grown at the farm is sold directly to the community, eliminating the “middle man” as Hunter Francis put it. Mr. Francis is the program coordinator of the
farm. Sustainable agriculture is a way of growing crops using no fertilizers, herbicides, or insecticides so the land is kept as close to its natural state as possible. Organic farming is the main way to sustain the land while simultaneously being produ...
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Earth Science major utilize environmental methods to improve and sustain land and water
resources. They focus their teaching on minimizing human impact as much as possible on
the land while still being productive. Organic farming may use fewer resources and
utilize every aspect of the land and the crops it produces, but it would not work on a
large scale commercial farm.
The question of whether organic farming is better than conventional farming
depends on who you talk to. Each method has its pros and cons. Here at Cal Poly, the
main farming technique is conventional because it has been the most productive and
economical in the past. But if organic farming is given the same chance as
conventional farming has been given to be productive on a large scale, Cal Poly may shift to more sustainable methods of farming in the future.
The tendencies of Baroque translated differently in parts of Europe. In Italy, it reflected the return of intense piety through dense church ornamentations, complex architecture, and dynamic painting. Calabrese’s work exhibits the combined artistic stimuli of the 17th century and culminates in the acquired Caravagesque style that alters how paintings were composed from then on. Executed at the height of Calabrese’s most creative phase, St. John the Baptist Preaching is indicates the monumentality of change in urbanization as well as the return of Catholic permanence in the 1600’s. Aside from the Baroque power of the artwork, Calabrese’s St. John is a piece worth gravitating to and stands as reminder of the grandiose excesses of Baroque art.
By most accounts, the year 1500 was in the midst of the height of the Italian Renaissance. In that year, Flemmish artist Jean Hey, known as the “Master of Moulins,” painted “The Annunciation” to adorn a section of an alter piece for his royal French patrons. The painting tells the story of the angel Gabriel’s visit to the Virgin Mary to deliver the news that she will give birth to the son of God. As the story goes, Mary, an unwed woman, was initially terrified about the prospects of pregnancy, but eventually accepts her fate as God’s servant. “The Annunciation” is an oil painting on a modest canvas, three feet tall and half as wide. The setting of the painting is a study, Mary sitting at a desk in the bottom right hand corner reading, and the angel Gabriel behind her holding a golden scepter, perhaps floating and slightly off the canvas’s center to the left. Both figures are making distinct hand gestures, and a single white dove, in a glowing sphere of gold, floats directly above Mary’s head. The rest of the study is artistic but uncluttered: a tiled floor, a bed with red sheets, and Italian-style architecture. “The Annunciation” was painted at a momentous time, at what is now considered the end of the Early Renaissance (the majority of the 15th Century) and the beginning of the High Renaissance (roughly, 1495 – 1520). Because of its appropriate placement in the Renaissance’s timeline and its distinctly High Renaissance characteristics, Jean Hey’s “Annunciation” represents the culmination of the transition from the trial-and-error process of the Early Renaissance, to the technical perfection that embodied the High Renaissance. Specifically, “Annunciation” demonstrates technical advancements in the portrayal of the huma...
As many women took on a domestic role during this era, by the turn of the century women were certainly not strangers to the work force. As the developing American nation altered the lives of its citizens, both men and women found themselves struggling economically and migrated into cities to find work in the emerging industrialized labor movement . Ho...
Dissenting Opinion- Written explanation of the views of one or more judges who disagree with (dissent from) a decision reached by a majority of the court
Traditional agriculture requires massive forest and grassland removal to obtain land necessary to farm on. Deforestation and overgrazing has caused erosion flooding, and enabled the expansion of deserts. But with drainage systems, leveling, and irrigation provided by the Green Rev, all this terra deforming will unlikely happen again. We can retain clean air and lessen the global warming effect caused by deforestation.Many people argue that a revamp in agriculture will be way too expensive and unrealistic especially for those poor farmers in third world countries. However many times, they exaggerate the price.
"From Home Front to Front Line." Women in War. Ed. Cecilia Lee and Paul Edward Strong. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. The Churchill Centre. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
As Jensen points out, farming and industry accounts for the vast majority of total water usage in the world (477). The increasingly scarce resource is a necessary ingredient when growing food. Technology continuously improves to make it easier for farmers to grow crops while using less water. Scientists at the University of Georgia utilize what they term “variable rate irrigation” to let farmers automate the current systems of irrigation to water only the crops that need it (Gies). This is an example of retrofitting current farms, but there is a new way of farming coming to cities that reuses practically all of its water and stakes claim much less acreage in the process. The future of agriculture belongs to vertical and urban farming. These types of farms reduce the use of water, chemicals (such as pesticides, herbicides and fungicides), soil and space (The Economist). These farms are so cutting edge that they are mostly in the experimental stages. Firms like Famgro farms are testing “stackable” farming systems that can scale with demand, even further reducing waste. Famgro’s stackable farms are ideal for cityscapes where land is at a premium; furthermore, reaping the added benefit of being in close proximity to the customers that they serve. Customers will enjoy high quality, fresh produce at only a slightly
How society created a system in nature where animals and farming actually ruin the land, the same land that was once so cherished by our ancestors, completely stupefies me. When America moved from the locally-owned farms to the gigantic food manufacturers of today, it also moved away from the idea of the sustainability of earth by not preserving the land. Since this movement skyrocketed our economy and allowed for growth in several sectors of life, people gave no second thought to the changes being made. How have we as a society gone so long without even considering the impact of such an enormous revision within our agricultural system? Through industrialized farming, we allow our land to be demolished. However, some farmers know an alternative way of farming. Some farmers use the alternative method of organic farming, a natural agriculture solution. Although there are various factors involved in organic farming, weighing the benefits and costs of this type of farming—on both large and small scale levels—permi...
Groh, Trauger and Steven McFadden. Farms of Tomorrow Revisited: Community Supported Farms - Farm Supported Communities. Kimberton, Pennsylvania: Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association, 1997.
Envision a farm with an abundance of animals and crops. The farm that most likely comes to mind is not one of giant machinery and smokestacks of pollution, but a vision of the old red barn and cows grazing freely. Sadly, these types of farms are mostly gone in the United States. These ‘family farms’ are being replaced every day by bigger, more industrialized farms. It is sad to see such a staple of the American culture being washed away by a type of farm that is being used purely for economic reasons. Family farming is slowly disappearing from the American landscape. We, as Americans, need to realize the importance of family farming because it produces high quality foods and helps economically for the local community.
The future of farming is coming at us faster than anybody could possibly imagine. Who would ever think of touch screen displays and very advanced warning systems? These days we have stuff like automated crop reporting, harvest lab, and many more features. These are just some of the technology that can help shape the future for more precise and accurate performance of our equipment used in the agricultural word today. With this new technology that can drive your tractor you can take that girl on a ride on you're big green tractor because you wont have to drive it so you can pay attention to her next to you.
The final draft will be explaining the positive actions of organic agriculture that companies such as ‘Polyface Farm’ promotes for an awareness of natural grown and unconventional farming methods to open the public understanding for a healthier lifestyle. Various cases of organic farming reduce the risk of environmental impacts in agriculture due to climate change, depletes the need for genetically modified food inducing a nutritious diet which lessens health risks, and drives an opportunity for higher wages to unconventional organic farmers. The following five sources will propel informative insight on organic farmer’s earnings and experiences which supports environmentally friendly agriculture and the ecology of nutritiously grown food that
Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals--environmental health, economic profitability, and social and economic equity. A variety of philosophies, policies and practices have contributed to these goals. People in many different capacities, from farmers to consumers, have shared this vision and contributed to it.
Organic farming has mushroomed drastically in importance and influence worldwide from its modest beginnings in the first half of the last century. Organic farming is production of food and livestock without the use of herbicides, pesticides, weedicides, fertilizers or genetically modified organism and use natural resources such as manure and compost instead. In other words, it is a production system which maintains the quality of soil ecosystem as well as human beings. According to IOWA State University, “the chemicals were not used for farming before World War 2. A number of munitions used in farming have contributed to field of agriculture. For instance, ammonium nitrate used as ammonium nitrate fertilizer”.
“ Know your farmer, know your food” goes the slogan by organic farmers to promote the consumption of locally grown food through organic farming. Subsequent to the clear distinction between organic and conventional food, there is an increase in focus towards organic farming. The “silent spring” that represents the seemingly solitary voice of the science writer Rachel Carson, 1962 ushered in the organic farming movement to counter the green revolution industrial-scale use of pesticides and fertilizers back in the 1960s. However the use of the term “organic farming” started with Lord Northbourne (aka Walter James, 4th Baron Northbourne) (Pogash, 2008), which he derived from the concept of “the farm as organism” as, explained in his book titled