A recent talk given by John Ikerd -- professor emeritus and sustainable agriculture visionary. Read more of his MANY works: http://www.johnikerd.com)

"I believe that to live and work on a good farm is pleasant as well as challenging; for I know the joys and discomforts of farm life and hold an inborn fondness for those associations, which even in the hours of discouragement, I cannot deny." (An excerpt from the creed of the Future Farmers of America)

During my high school years, I was a member of the Future Farmers of America or FFA. Since then name has been changed to simply FFA – agribusiness has replaced farming as the focus of the once-popular organization.  During my times, the FFA Creed began with the words: I believe in the future of farming with a faith born not of words but of deeds.  I believed those words then, and I believe them even more today. However, I do not believe there is any future in the kind of farming or agribusiness the FFA is promoting today.  I believe we are living through the end of an era in America and the rest of the so-called developed world, including the end of agribusiness and the rebirth of real farming in America.
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