From the Director

This year marks the ninth iteration of the Farm/Art DTour, “DTour” for short (no apostrophe), pronounced 'deetour.' Why the goofy spelling? The thinking back in 2011 was to underscore the another-way-ness of what we hoped to offer. Another way to go, another way of seeing, an unlikely alliance, another…spelling. Since that first year, the DTour has grown beyond our wildest dreams, from a few thousand to tens of thousands of visitors. system, encountering persistent, optimistic experiments and trillions of breathing lifeforms, billions of years of planetary churn all in a 50-mile loop.

In 2020 we successfully adapted to Covid, when many of our colleagues could not, because social distancing is built into this self-guided tour. In 2022 we continue to navigate difficult terrain: an on-and-off-again pandemic, a spring heatwave, political brawls about personal rights, all leading up to a fraught midterm election in this swinging state we call home. We’re also navigating the great This meandering drive in the country has the potential to resignation, tech fatigue and a housing crisis, even in our rural communities. Democracy is threatened, interest rates are rising, the climate is changing and be at once a sensual awakening, wayfinding workout, digital detox the rural/urban divide may be deepening. Finding another (read: better) way forward may be the most valuable skill one can hone right now. (intermittently), and an immersion in a small section of the This meandering drive in the country has the potential to be at once a sensual awakening, wayfinding workout, digital actual messy, fragrant, pulsating, living and dying earth. detox (intermittently), and an immersion in a small section of the actual messy, fragrant, pulsating, living and dying earth. Practically, it’s an introduction to a new hiking path, cheese factory, artisanal beer, Ho-Chunk artist, or farmstead bakery. The DTour invites travelers to be alert, eyes peeled, ears attuned, senses heightened. The essays and artwork found in these pages tap into the depth and vastness of the visible and invisible worlds you’ll encounter. You'll read about deep time, fungal networks, and farmers negotiating an outdated system. Along the DTour you’ll find yourself there: among ancient rocks, above the mycelia and soil teeming with bacteria, passing farms that could or couldn't survive the The gently curated stops on the old-school, foldable paper map (see a preview of the route on pages 18-19) serve as punctuation in the changing narrative of this unique landscape on the edge of the Driftless. Some Map Stops are commas: a brief pause, a slight shift in emphasis or tone. Others are periods, full stop. Get off your bike or out of your car. Exclamation points could trigger an argument (!) Personally I’m drawn to the question marks: encounters that may puzzle or please, provoke or enchant. Which is it? That's for you to decide, I just work here. As our planning team of self-taught cartographers makes decisions over a giant, laminated map, sticky dots move and move again; we’re like generals deploying toy tanks and molded plastic battalions in a Hollywood version of the war room. In fact, our first year that’s what we called our planning area (double duty as our dining room). It was a joke then untethered to concerns about divisive factions that have become visceral in recent years. Now, with an alliance of artists and farmers, we plot ways to interrupt, disarm and surprise when the stakes are high. Several artists this year help us sense the infra/structures that connect us, from roots and rhizomes to biotic communities and social fabrics. Even when détente can seem elusive on this side of the dirt, cross-sector & interspecies collaboration is alive and well in healthy soil. Perhaps we can all take the cue—as we grab a map, comfy shoes and plan for a full day or two in the country. Which way will we go?

As with art, you the viewer complete the piece.

Donna Neuwirth, Wormfarm Institute Executive Director