What Wendell Berry meant to Christian farmers going green

Jennifer, a seventh-generation cattle rancher in Georgia, expressed deep sorrow upon learning that Wendell Berry had passed away. Berry, a Kentucky farmer, writer and activist, had served as an inspiration for many environmentally conscious individuals. As an environmental anthropologist, the researcher who interviewed her had witnessed firsthand the profound impact Berry had on the rural producers she studied.

These farmers had traditionally farmed land that had been in their families for generations, but in recent years, they had transitioned from conventional, industrial practices to sustainable or regenerative methods.

The researcher spent 16 months conducting ethnographic research with "ex-conventional" farmers – those who had broken away from both agricultural and social conventions in their communities. The majority of today's U.S. farmers still follow conventional practices, including monocropping, intensive soil tillage and the use of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides.

In contrast, the farmers studied had recently changed their perspectives, recognizing that conventional methods were causing damage to soil, land and water. They began implementing alternative practices, such as reducing or eliminating petrochemical use, stopping tillage, adding diverse plant varieties and cover crops, and adopting regenerative grazing techniques.

While the transition to sustainable farming was often challenging, particularly the social side of changing their farming practices, the researchers found that the farmers' motivation was primarily rooted in caring for creation. Many of these farmers were Protestant Christians who felt a sense of guilt and responsibility for harming the land.

They connected their faith with their new commitment to ecologically friendly farming methods. For example, Angela, a farmer in Tennessee, described how her transition to sustainable farming aligned with her Christian faith, expressing frustration when others in her church questioned her Christian faith and morality for caring for the environment.

Some farmers in the research felt that their churches interpreted their critiques of conventional agriculture as challenges to American rural values. They feared that their attempts to explain their ecological concerns were perceived as attacks on the deeply ingrained belief that farming and land stewardship were God-given roles. These concerns were exacerbated by the perception that sustainable farming and environmentalism were seen as anti-farmer and anti-rural ideologies.