Embracing the Good News for Planet Earth The Martz Scholarship for Sustainable Agriculture

The official document of the University of Missouri reads “Family, friends and former students of Dr. Martz established the Fred and Donna Martz Scholarship Endowment Fund on 3-15-2012 to provide scholarship awards to students undertaking study in the Sustainable Agriculture Program of the College of Agriculture Food and Natural Resources”. 

The Martz Scholarship is a very fulfilling honor for the entire Martz family.  Never in my wildest dreams did I envision the establishment of such an award.  I always envisioned such honors went to those with many more achievements and talents than me.  The endowment has now grown to two $1,500 awards each year. 

Preference for the award is for students studying Sustainable Agriculture, Animal Science, Agronomy and/or Soils.  Applicants are required to write an essay, not to exceed one page, about their personal vision for sustainable agriculture and the applicant shall have completed or be enrolled in a sustainable agriculture course.  Studies teach that practices and theories in Sustainable Agriculture must be profitable, environmentally friendly and socially acceptable.

As scholarship recipients move on in their careers, they continue to demonstrate sustainable agricultural practices in a variety of interesting projects, all contributing to the intended objectives.  

·         Luke Freeman is working as a Horticulturist at the Southeast Area Center of the National Center for Applied Technology in Fayetteville, Arkansas.  His wife, Natalie, sells produce and eggs from their store, The Freckled Hen Farmhouse. 

·         Jessica Hill, a 2014 recipient serves as Assistant Farm Manager at the Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Birmingham, Alabama where she teaches Middle Schoolers.  At the Farm they give students hands-on experience with soil and plants to help them connect discoveries in the classroom to action in the community. 

·         Kendra Earl, a 2015 recipient, is finishing her Master’s Degree in Agricultural Economics and recently did a 6-week visit/study in Southern Peru (14,000 ft. elevation) with poor farmers where she studied if or how a previous 10-year livestock project (Alpaca improvement) has affected their lives.  This information will contribute to her thesis. 

These examples illustrate the ripple effect of schooling and scholarship. The Sustainable Agriculture Program, as well as the Martz family, are very proud of the continuing outreach of our scholarship winners.  

~Fred Martz

Embracing the Good News for Planet Earth: Sustainable Agriculture Program-University of Missouri-Columbia

The Sustainable Agriculture Undergraduate Program at the University of Missouri-Columbia may not be well-known outside the university but it does exist!  Mary Hendrickson, PhD, Assistant Professor of Rural Sociology serves as the undergraduate advisor, 200B Gentry Hall, 573-882-7463.  Students majoring in this program will receive a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with a transcript emphasis in Sustainable Agriculture.  The program generally has about 25 majors and minors and features an introductory course and advanced courses in food production and community food systems.  The advanced production course is now team taught by a group of interdisciplinary scientists, and utilizes a unique teaching approach that poses farmer based dilemmas in managing soil, water, energy and biodiversity on the farm.

Agriculture is the production and processing of food for human consumption. Defining ‘sustainable agriculture’ to everyone’s satisfaction is very difficult. Sustainability adds the concept that the period of time for food production is very long, possibly even endless—where resources such as soil, water, and minerals are used judiciously, but not exhausted.  There are areas in China where the agriculture systems are 4,000 years old and still going. These food production systems are far different than systems used here in the US. Truth is, US systems are not sustainable at this time. 

Teaching Sustainable Agriculture at the University focuses on balancing tradeoffs between Farm Profitability, Environmental Soundness, and Societal Wellbeing – or balancing tradeoffs between community, ecology and economics.   Important concepts include:  Utilization of sun-energy to reduce dependence on other sources; conservation and protection of natural resources (water, fossil fuels, etc.; soil health; concerns and contribution to community; concerns for and elimination of environmental pollution, how society has developed our current situations and how we can make adjustments; plus a host of other situations which lead to unsustainability. 

The Missouri Sustainable Agriculture Program is still in its infancy. Classes were first held in 2006, sparked by interest in MU Extension’s Community Food Systems and Sustainable Agriculture Program and funded through a USDA grant.  Many changes have occurred during the past 20 years and more are likely to come in the future.  Next month, look for profiles of Sustainable Ag Scholarship Winners!

Our thanks to Dr. Fred Martz, one of the originators of this program, and to Dr. Jim Spain, who helped develop the original advanced production class …Sustainable Living Steering Committee