By Criss Carlota Berke
This summer, three North Carolina State University students participated in Nature For Justice’s (N4J) pilot internship – Regenerative Farming with BIPOC Farmers. For ten weeks, they learned about how climate-smart, regenerative, and sustainable practices manifest on livestock and produce farms. Through tailored workshops, farm and market tours, and interactions with agricultural specialists, these students gained insight into a perspective not often seen in academia – one of a Black farmer. The following blog is a point of view from an intern, Criss Berke, and her experience learning about Black land retention, forest management, and legacy planning at Fourtee Acres Farm.
Education is key for us to continue to grow, be successful, and to protect and build our planet. At North Carolina State University, I study agroecology and sustainable food systems, which apply ecological concepts and principles to the design and management of sustainable agroecosystems. However, my education is lacking on the hands-on front. Most of my classes are lecture-based, and we rarely get out on the field, get our hands dirty, or go on farm tours. I’m also missing the BIPOC perspective. As agroecology has grown from and encompasses peasant and grassroots movements, and indigenous people, my education should be acknowledging and teaching about this. What drew me to this internship was the opportunity to fill those gaps, get that hands-on experience, and learn from Black and Indigenous farmers of Color.
During the internship, I learned the most about legacy farming and how farmers invest in the future. Fourtee Acres, LLC is a family-run farm in Enfield, Eastern North Carolina. Parents Tyrone, Edna, and their three sons manage a small vegetable operation and a timber forest. This was my first experience learning about forestry, so the forest walk we had at the start of our time together was extremely informative.
Managing forests incorporates so many different topics, starting from the goals and objectives of the forest, to forest management plans, and all the way to property taxes. Forest management provides a way for landowners to promote conservation and carbon sequestration while maintaining the land for the next generation. For example, forestry can allow Black landowners to pay property taxes while ensuring intergenerational wealth. Here, land is an asset rather than a liability. Financially, planting timber is a long-term investment. Landowners only have a few harvests in a lifetime, meaning farmers have to fund upfront costs to maintain the forest. When Tyrone spoke to his sons about succession planting, harvesting, and re-seeding, since they were young, the financial benefit from harvesting wasn’t on their minds. That’s where Edna’s Natural Garden comes in, to show the immediate benefits of regenerative farming.
Legacy farming was extremely valuable to learn about first-hand from a farmer. For me, Tyrone and Edna’s most significant message was investing in the future. Wealth is rooted in the soil, and we need to re-invest, but also we need to invest in future generations of people. Forestry, not only to protect the environment but also to build generational wealth, was a new concept for me. I’ve always learned about black land loss in school, but never about black land retention, so to see it first-hand and the foundation they’re laying their kids and future generations was extremely empowering.
Through both farmers, I got to see and be a part of community building. One of the most beneficial activities we did was on the last two days of our time with Tyrone and Edna. Some 30-40 landowners, growers, and interested beginning farmers came together for presentations and a networking opportunity. Through those community partnerships, Tyrone and Edna demonstrated the value of relationship building and the impact it has on the services that one day as resource professionals, we interns are going to provide. Tyrone always highlighted the importance of building trust, especially in BIPOC and underserved communities, and he emphasized how “partnerships are powerful” and “nobody cares about what you know until they know about how much you care.”
As educators, Tyrone and Edna had so much to add to this experience, and I’m so grateful for all of the farmers and Nature for Justice staff involved in making this internship a reality. This experience exceeded all of our expectations and gave us all hope for the future. Tyrone talked about how refreshing it is for young folks to care about our planet and our commitment to redirecting practices and their vision for making them better. This opportunity gives Tryone hope for the climate, land, and for the next generation. The Nature for Justice Internship proves itself as an endeavor to make progress in the agriculture arena.
