A visit to the Dickinson College farm
On a visit to the Dickinson Farm you can see extensive farm fields, abundant veggies, crates of harvested produce, or even the happy cows grazing in their pasture but until you start to understand the processes of the productive organic farm, you won’t fully appreciate the farm for all that it is.
Polyculture versus monoculture
Polyculture versus monoculture from Community Food Forests
As soon as you walk onto the property you can see a variety of crops, maybe you can smell the garlic that was recently harvested or you can see the rows of ripe tomatoes ready to be picked or even notice the strawberries that were already planted for an early harvest next Spring. That variety of crops is polyculture. The outcomes of polyculture are usually higher yields, more stability, and natural pest and disease control. Then, there’s monoculture, the cultivation of one crop. As you drive through the backroads of Pennsylvania, at some point you’ll see fields upon fields of corn. That’s monoculture. Monoculture has dominated a large sector of the agriculture industry because it’s efficient. Our current food system relies heavily on monoculture due to its convenience, but by growing one crop the risk of crop failure, food supply issues, and food insecurity increases. The health of our society depends upon a diversity of crops. In The Impact of Climate Change on Food Systems it emphasizes that “…food systems that foster biodiversity have been shown to contribute toward more sustainable food production systems”(Owino et al. 2022). With the added instability from climate change, it’s more important than ever to have diverse agriculture.
Example of Silvopasture from Earth Overshoot Day
Silvopasture
Beyond polyculture, the Dickinson Farm uses silvopasture which is the use of trees in grazing pastures. Not only does the shade of the trees make the pasture more comfortable for livestock but at the Dickinson Farm, the trees are native, fruit producing, and pollinator friendly helping to create a diverse ecosystem. (J. Halpin, personal communication, September 18, 2025). According to the USDA, Silvopasture “Protects water quality, reduces soil erosion, improves nutrient cycling.” By using nature as a guide in setting up a farm, as one does in silvopasture, one can avoid domination of nature. As a class we discussed how, conventional agriculture reflects a business oriented approach to farming where nature is seen as a commodity. In contrast, alternative agriculture is based in harmony with nature. The Dickinson farm is an example of alternative agriculture and proves that a productive farm doesn’t have to be one that exploits the land.
Crop rotation
The Dickinson farm uses a crop rotation system where produce is grown in an area for 3-4 years then the area becomes a pasture for the cows for a few years until it’s used for growing again. This cycle builds soil health. The manure from the livestock adds nutrients such as nitrogen back into the soil. There is a risk that the inactive growing years could lead to more weed competition for the crops but if done successfully the livestock will graze on the weeds preventing them from going to seed. (J. Halpin, personal communication, September 18, 2025). This rotational system is essential to having successful crops.
Next time you’re on the Dickinson farm I hope you’ll have a deeper appreciation for a few of the many intentional aspects and systems of the farm that help to make it the productive alternative agriculture farm that it is!
Consider…
Is a shift in how we view nature necessary to move toward more sustainable agriculture?
How can we make changes to ensure that our food system has stability especially when the effects of climate change are exacerbating the issues of our monoculture reliant food system?
Works Cited:
Gordon, A. (2022, June 14). Polyculture Farming: Detailed Overview. AGRIVI. https://www.agrivi.com/blog/polyculture-production-system-for-sustainable-farming/
Owino, V., Kumwenda, C., Ekesa, B., Parker, M. E., Ewoldt, L., Roos, N., Lee, W. T., & Tome, D. (2022). The impact of climate change on food systems, diet quality, nutrition, and health outcomes: A narrative review. Frontiers in Climate, 4(941842). https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2022.941842
Silvopasture | USDA Climate Hubs. (n.d.). Www.climatehubs.usda.gov. https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southeast/topic/silvopasture
Adleigh,
This exploration of the different alternative agricultural tactics used at the Dickinson College Farm is a really helpful summary of what we learned as a class during our field trip (literally, since we visited fields!). As you referenced, the article “The impact of climate change on food systems” provides a scientific explanation for why farming strategies that incorporate nature and protect biodiversity are found to be more successful than monocultural, nature-excluding agricultural methods. You highlighted how in one drive through Pennsylvania farmland, one is sure to see both alternative and mainstream examples of agriculture. The Dickinson College Farm is an outstanding model of organic, alternative agriculture in our backyard here at the school, as it employs multiple alternative methods like silvopasture, rotations, and polyculture. As a class, we witnessed these systems in action as we learned from Jenn how the College Farm embraces harmony with nature, especially pollinators, trees, and cows’ grazing, to improve soil and plant health for higher yields and a more successful farming process. I particularly liked the questions you posed at the end of this post about how making changes in our approaches to agriculture, in response to the experiences we face more often nowadays like the effects of climate change, might help us adapt our agro-processes to better respond to the present moment.
Parker
Adleigh,
You did an excellent job at thoroughly sharing what we explored and learned about during our field trip at the Dickinson College Farm. It’s super important how the farm operates in a way that is mindful to the land rather than exploiting it. Instead of simply using the land, they work with it so both can benefit. Your post does a great job of connecting the farms practices to the reading with did in class titled “Conventional versus Alternative Agriculture: The Paradigmatic Roots of the Debate” by Beus and Dunlap. That reading illustrates how debates between conventional (industrial) agriculture and alternative(sustainable) agriculture represent deeper conflict. This is reflected at the Dickinson Farm where they talk a more alternative and sustainable approach to farming. For example, you mention crop rotation and silvopasture which are two practices that help promotes sustainability and productivity. Your blog post along with Parker’s comment highlight how the farm is pushing more towards alternative agriculture and the benefits that come with that transition. You also posed an excellent question at the end: Is a shift in how we view nature necessary to move toward more sustainable agriculture? I believe this shift is necessary, because without it, sustainable practices remain surface level “fixes” rather than structural changes. With the shift in mentality, agriculture can restore ecosystems and support long-term food security. It also aligns human well-being with ecological well-being which can greatly enhance sustainability.
Erin Liggio
Citations:
Beus, C. E., & Dunlap, R. E. (1990). Conventional versus alternative agriculture: The paradigmatic roots of the debate. Rural Sociology, 55(4), 590–616. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1549-0831.1990.tb00699.x