Post-Harvest at the Monmouth College Farm
Within the past few weeks, students along with Professor Eric Engstrom have been working hard at the Monmouth College Farm and Garden to wrap up corn and squash harvests.
Engstrom has been a principal co-director of the Monmouth College Farm and Garden alongside Professor Craig Vivian for the past two summers.
After the harvest season, Engstrom has many future plans for the farm.
“The farm is always a work in progress,” said Engstrom. “We need more rotations. We’re thinking of developing another rotation where we have a tall plant, some nitrogen fixer, and some ground covering thing to make it work.”
Engstrom is also looking forward to making updates with their chickens.
“We are trying to figure out how to get them off feed. We don’t feed our chickens any commercial feed, but we do supplement with grains. I would like to get them off that completely,” said Engstrom.
The farm serves as a laboratory for many biology classes. What is learned in the classroom can be applied at the farm.
“We farm agro-ecological. It has many components. The idea is that you are using biological knowledge to inform how and what you plant, the farm practices you do, and when you do them. All of these are grounded on ecological principles,” said Engstrom.
Other than being used for classroom and lab purposes, students can also work at the farm during the summer.
“This really plays into all of the things we teach at a liberal arts school. Creativity, critical thinking, and asking questions about things.” said Engstrom. “People really get an experience out of this. It is a special place.”
Maya Dickerson - Staff Writer