What stands in the way becomes the way.
— Judson Brewer, The Hunger Habit
My husband and I moved to Vermont because of our love for the land and farming. We filled our homestead with native plants to support pollinators. This year, our farmer neighbor decided to plant corn on our border – corn laced with pesticides – neonicotinoids – that threatened our bees, butterflies, and birds.
I had worked to build bridges with him, attending his son’s soccer games, listening to his stories about being the deputy fire chief, volunteering for the fire company at the county fair. We gave him the hay in our fields, and I enjoyed riding in his combine as the hay was cut. But now it was time to speak a difficult truth.
I asked if we could talk. He agreed and brought his 18-year-old son. I spoke of our appreciation of his hard work as a dairy farmer. I then spoke of how the pesticides could lead to the death of our bees and pollinators. He knew nothing of the threat and immediately expressed faith in his seed company – a subsidiary owned by Dupont.
We kept talking. I shared a video of farmers expressing concern about pesticides. And what was in the way began to give way to connection. We listened to his need to expand his crops. We offered to buy the land, to buy organic corn seed for him, anything to keep the land free of pesticides.
There was silence, and then good news. For now, no corn will be planted next to our land. A temporary respite. Hopefully, one we can build upon.
Betsy Taylor
I grew up in a working-class community in northern Maryland. My childhood was spent with farmers – many conservative to the core. I went on to elite schools and moved to the Washington DC area where I worked for progressive social change. My background has helped me build bridges to my neighbors in New Haven, Vermont and to family members who see the world differently yet who share a love of land, children, and service.
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