Knee high by the Fourth of July? A call to action to honor the harvest

Like every proud American, I look forward to the Fourth of July, to gather with family and friends, reflect on the day that marks the birth of the United States of America as an independent nation, watch fireworks and parades—and eat the traditional food that is at the heart of the celebration.

Farmers and ranchers across the USA want nothing more than to make sure that our picnic tables on Independence Day are bountiful with burgers, juicy tomatoes, green beans,  fresh strawberries and not least—corn.

Growing up in Ohio, we would always say, “corn that’s knee high by the Fourth of July”? Not this year.

Unfortunately, that old adage used by farmers to measure the success of their corn crops has a hollow ring to it this year as thousands of farmers across the USA have had to delay planting corn, soybeans and many other crops due to an unprecedented flooding season. 

Farmers are hurting—and we’re not talking about it enough. Last week I was in Mississippi, where many farmers have been forced to leave fields unplanted due to heavy rains. The Mississippi River Flood is the longest-lasting since the Great Flood of 1927.

“My farm is going to be underwater even into July,” one farmer told me. “I’m renting this land and having to pay the bills, but I don’t have a chance of getting all my fields planted this year.”

Farmers are resilient. They keep their chins up, keep doing the hard work of farming, in spite of everything. But the weather events of this season are testing their resiliency like never before. The wettest year-long period in Ohio since 1895.  The area around my home town in Ohio does not look the same. Thousands of acres of ruined cotton and soybean crops in Tennessee. And in Indiana, farmers are dramatically behind in corn planting.

Farmers across the country have been taking to Twitter to share images of unplanted fields, trying to get advice from one another and seeking community as they all struggle. The hashtag says it all: #Noplant19 which farmers say is turning into #Noharvest19 pretty quick.

I share all of this not to depress you but as a wake-up call. On the Fourth of July we like to think we are honoring the harvest. But are we? With climate change and extreme flooding affecting crops like never before, on top of an already challenging economic situation for many farms, farmers are on the brink. 

We’re in this together. A sustainable food system that is going to withstand the continuing impacts of climate change and severe weather and feed a growing population is everyone’s responsibility.

We can all be part of the solution. Not just the food industry, although they play a crucial part, but each one of us, in the food choices we make. By understanding not only what we buy and  what we eat and enjoy and strive not to waste—but who grows that food for us, which today can come at a pretty high risk to their own families’ livelihoods.

By not helping to protect our farmland, which is vanishing rapidly across the USA due to urban development and other land use changes, we are also missing an incredible opportunity to sequester carbon in the soil, as I mentioned in last week’s blog.

Farmers are proud people. They don’t want a handout or a hug. They want hope. And that come in many forms. It might include more creative forms of farm insurance that take into account our changing climate, or new innovative forms of investment that increase the economic resilience of farmers.

Or making sure you support your local farmers so that they, too, can look forward to the bounty on the Fourth of July.

What do you think are the best ways to address the situation that our farmers and ranchers face today? How can we co-create a solution for the sustainable food systems of the future?