The 2021 Wendell Berry Farming Program Commencement Ceremony

he Wendell Berry Farming Program, a tuition-free college degree program that started in 2019 graduated its inaugural cohort of 12 students on May 15, 2021 at the Henry County Fairgrounds in Eminence, Kentucky. The celebrated farmer and author Wendell Berry delivered the commencement address, a stirring assessment of the consequences to our country when millions of people have moved from farms to urban areas in a single lifetime. Sharing his belief in the fundamental laws of nature and human nature, Mr. Berry reminded graduates “if the land is to be used by people, then it must be used by people who love it. Who are culturally prepared and instructed to use it lovingly. And whose cultures, therefore, are sustained economically.” He went on to add” I believe that you, along with all the rest of us, are called to take good care of our country. Which in the foreseeable future will mean both using it well and, so far as we can, healing the wounds we have given it.” The graduates plan to follow Mr. Berry’s advice. Some will return to family farms to revitalize the land, manage forests, grow crops and raise livestock using sustainable methods. Others will apply their education to establish new enterprises that focus on connecting people with food and farms.