Local farming and sustainability are topics that affect the Gustavus community, and the surrounding communities as well. Where our food comes from, how it is produced and how the industry can move toward sustainability are questions that consumers and producers must ask themselves. Over the past year, one Gustavus professor and one Gustavus student collaborated to take a closer look at these issues.

Professor of Communication Studies Martin Lang ’95 and Sophomore Political Science and English Major Ethan Marxhausen were awarded a Gustavus Presidential Faculty/Student Collaboration Grant, and over the past year they produced an independent film documentary titled Farming Forward. The film premiered at a conference at St. Olaf last month and also showed locally last Thursday at the Treaty Site History Center in St. Peter. Marxhausen and Lang met while working at GACTV. After applying for the grant, Lang recruited Marxhausen and the two began an eight week process, filming and visiting Minnesota organic farms.

“It was a huge learning experience, especially staying on at the farms,” Marxhausen said.

The film focused on highlighting the possible solutions to sustainable farming. Instead of using pesticides and other chemicals, sustainable farming promotes crop rotation, in which farmers change the crop in a specific field each year to literally stay ahead of plant-specific pests that can destroy harvests. Cover cropping, the process of spreading organic plant material over a field before planting the harvest crop, adds to soil fertility without chemical fertilizers. Cover cropping also impedes pests and weeds and retains water.

“The opportunities are there for people to get involved and eat locally and support sustainability,” Marxhausen said.

Sustainable organic farming contributes to many aspects of the community. Co-ops and other retailers enjoy selling local organic produce because buyers know where it came from and that the product is fresh.

“I like to buy local. I like to help my neighbor rather than somebody else I don’t know,” Ricky Tollefson ’09, an environmental studies major and employee of Tollefson Family Pork Organic Farms said. “Organic farming is extremely sustainable with a smart farmer.”

Money spent on local organic farming promotes buyer-grower relationships and also keeps the money spent on the food in the community, instead of going to transportation and storage third parties. Consumers enjoy organic food as well, because the produce is fresher and generally tastes better. Local schools are also looking into serving food from local organic farms as part of healthy living initiatives.

One of the farms the documentary team visited was the Big Hill Farm located on the Gustavus campus. The Big Hill Farm was a new addition last summer. The student run operation worked to raise some organic crops that went on to be sold in the Market Place.

“We sell directly to the [Market Place]” Big Hill worker and Senior Environmental Studies Major Lucas Neher said. The money raised will go toward next year’s farm operation. Big Hill Farm currently operates on one acre of land and raised 20 varieties of fruits and vegetables last harvest.

“By supporting sustainable farming we’re investing in renewable resources, and I’m glad we can be part of that,” Neher said.

Farming Forward is still in the process of being converted to DVD format, but the team hopes to continue showing the documentary and also distributing it to local farmers.

“The goal of the film is to educate, not to portray a political message or promote any one way of eating. It’s just presenting an option,” Marxhausen said.

A trailer for the film can be seen on YouTube or on the Make Your Life Count Blog at www.makeyourlifecount.blog.gustavus.edu.