4 minute read
A New Course
A regenerative organic agriculture program is taking root at a university in America’s heartland.
IN THE 130-MILE CORRIDOR between the small cities of Salina and Wichita, Kansas, vast fields of corn, soybeans, and wheat produce tons of the raw materials for the industrial food system. An initiative at Kansas Wesleyan University (KWU) aims to sow a different agricultural future for the region. The university has formed a partnership with Rodale Institute to train regenerative organic farmers who will help to supply healthy, fresh food to their communities. The Salina-based school launched a Community Resilience Hub (CRH) in 2022 with a mission to “enhance food security and strengthen agricultural livelihoods through education, action, and advocacy,” says Sabrina Rosario, director. “We see an urgent need to research and teach about sustainable agriculture here.”
The effort sprang from a conversation during the COVID pandemic between KWU’s president, Matt Thompson, PhD, and Wes Jackson, PhD, the renowned scientist, author, and founder of the Land Institute, a nonprofit that has been advocating for regenerative organic farming since 1976. “They were talking about the resilience of the food system and the public health crisis,” Rosario says. “In that conversation, the framework for the CRH was established, and it became clear what actions we should take.”
Training Days
KWU is a small, private, faith-based institution with a foundation in liberal arts education. “There has never been an agriculture program,” Rosario says. “We are going into it now for the first time with intentionality and a strategy.”
The program’s educational goals are to “train the next generation of sustainable farmers, prepare a workforce supporting farmers and food system security, and increase student opportunities for practical, applied fieldwork.”
An alliance with Rodale Institute brings to Salina its farmer training program (known as RIFT; see page 16), the heartbeat of Rodale Institute’s Education Department. Future plans include a potential regional resource center, where researchers can gather information about growing food organically in Kansas and share that knowledge with area producers.
2023 RIFT graduate and a native Kansan, will be the lead regenerative organic agriculture instructor. “The relationship with Rodale Institute adds a layer of credibility to our program,” says Sheila Kjellberg, KWU Community Resilience Hub coordinator.
Network Connections
The practical part of the training will be hosted at Quail Creek Family Farms, which is transitioning its 450 acres of farmland in Salina to regenerative organic management. The diverse livestock and crop operation has set aside 10 acres where the RIFT students will work.
JRI Hospitality is a Salina-based business that owns and operates nearly 100 restaurants in 15 states, and it is the proprietor of Quail Creek. “As part of JRI Hospitality’s mission to provide guests with the best food products, the farm has dedicated a significant amount of acreage to regenerative organic farming,” says Lisa Ingermanson, JRI’s research and development coordinator. This ensures “that the food served is sustainably produced and supports the health of the environment. It also allows us to educate our guests about where and how their food is grown.”
Just like the RIFT participants in Pennsylvania, the KWU students will have the opportunity to meet with working farmers and ranchers and learn from their experiences. Rosario and Kjellberg have been getting to know producers around the state. “We want to build a network of farms where students can find work when they complete the program,” Kjellberg says.
The Community Resilience Hub has partnered with farmers and other organizations on a USDA Local Food Promotion Program grant, which will support food production and consumption along the corridor between Salina and Wichita. “We’re in the middle of an agricultural area, and 90 percent of the
44.7 million Acres of farmland food that people eat comes from other places,” Rosario explains. “We want to build a regional food system that serves our communities directly. We’re also planning a mobile farmers’ market that will go to areas where many people may be food insecure.”
Social equity is a key component of regenerative organic farming, and it comes with a commitment to fair wages for farmers and farmworkers and access to healthy food for all. The KWU program includes a required course on “Agricultural Humanities.” The lessons will focus on “what it means to farm in a place and in a community,” Rosario says. “We want to bring together the work of the mind and the work of the hand.”
Learn more about the Community Resilience Hub at kwu.edu/crh. Check out Rodale Institute’s diverse array of educational programs at RodaleInstitute.org/education
Cover photo by CRH/KWU (FARMERS)
