This was written by Mikey Azzara, 2004-2005 BLAST Cadre member, about the Iowa Dig-In. The Dig-In was the Cadre’s final retreat, and a chance to explore the issues, successes and challenges that sustainable agriculture is facing in Iowa.

Iowa is so very much different from New Jersey. And so is its agriculture. I had to see it to believe how much corn and soybeans, and how much farmland, there really is in Iowa. Those who know me know about my passion for place and local-scale change, but since this trip I am beginning to think more about the potentially larger role that I can place in the coming years. Seeing and experiencing Iowa really grounded me in the fact that every region and every state and every town has a slightly different set of circumstances (whether its climate, soil, farming practices, or markets), and inspired me to really want to learn more…what’s it like in Texas? Florida? New Mexico? Maine?

In other ways, I saw similarities between NJ and Iowa: farmers struggling to make a living, sustainable farmers sharing information between themselves, and people passionately pursuing an agrarian way of life and promoting what they believe to be the most important movement in America today.

So in addition to returning home with perspective, I return home with hope. We’re doing this! It’s happening! LET’S KEEP ON.