Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
I think I'm a good environmental citizen. Nobody's gonna know that unless I go
out and tell them. And I need to tell them in a way that's irrefutable. . . . [This
partnership] has the potential of . . . presenting a credible story and being able
to back it up with good information.
Partnerships provide these growers a network to share information that
allows them to learn how to farm in a way more consistent with their
environmental values, but also a platform to present their farming in a
positive light to their neighbors.
Many growers feel wronged by the way urban environmentalists have
demonized agriculture. One Kern County almond grower and supporter
of the almond PMA (although not formally enrolled) said:
I'm going to get on my soapbox in a minute. I think that farmers really get a bum
rap for not being environmentalists, because basically that's what a farmer is. We
live off the land, and we're environmentalists. The first thing we don't want to
do is poison ourselves, our kids or our family, because we mostly live on the
farms. And second of all, we don't want to sell a product to somebody and kill
them with the product we sell, because then we can't resell the product. So I think
we really get a bad rap that way.
This grower perceives an advantage in learning about agroecological
pest-management strategies through the PMA because they represent a
practical solution to the challenges of production, be they economic or
regulatory. They see the advantages that agroecological approaches offer,
and are happy to pursue them if they can be made to work. Another
Kern County almond grower said:
We've gotten into this, I don't consider, neither [I nor my son] consider ourselves
Greens by any sense of the imagination, but got into this type of pest manage-
ment mostly because I feel it's the wave of the future. Regulations keep getting
tougher and tougher. It's going to be harder and harder to spray.
This comment reflects a practical approach to staying in agriculture
despite public opposition to pesticides expressed through regulations.
Growers participating in partnerships take a pragmatic view of regu-
lations, and this appears to be part of the progressive grower profile. 15
They may have fundamental disagreements with environmentalists, but
they accept the rationality of environmental regulations. A Kern County
almond grower said:
My opinion of the environmental thing is: it's here. It's not going to go away.
Deal with it. Work with it. It doesn't do any good to bitch and carry on and make
a lot of noise about it. If you don't like it, go farm in Brazil. . . . They'll start
 
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