This is money that has the power to shape our landscapes, our farming practices, our energy investments, and our ability to help support others in need.

Pasa’s Aaron de Long shares the story of a farmer who addressed his scholar cohort remotely from Ukraine, where Russian military action had begun just days earlier, and reflects on how the crisis is expected to exacerbate food security issues in the Middle East and Africa.

I was inspired to join Pasa, after a decade of farming, in order to help the type of farms I believed in succeed. Of course, for a business, success is measured in profitability. But the reality is that agriculture that is not supporting the health of our water, air, and earth, is ultimately a dead end.

Whether they studied math, education, or culinary arts, whether they served in the military or grew up on a farm, the six individuals graduating from Diversified Vegetable Apprenticeship this spring each brought their own unique strengths to the farms that hosted them.