Agriculture alive and well in valley

One might think that local agriculture has faded after years of farmlands being converted to subdivisions and the fact that fewer than 1 percent of Americans are farmers, but this week’s fair and the development of a new agriculture program at Flathead Valley Community College are evidence to the contrary.

Every year, the fair is a showcase for agriculture of all types, especially with the animal exhibits and competitions, which concluded Saturday with the market stock sale that typically generates around $250,000 for youths who raise their own animals. That’s an impressive haul, and just a sample of what the broader Flathead Valley generates in the way of agricultural economic activity.

College officials have acknowledged this by establishing the new Sustainable Agriculture Program, in part at the request of people who have expressed an interest in the vocation.

The program involves four tracks of study that are geared to get students ready to start and effectively run their own farms. And this is not a pursuit limited to the classroom; the program involves the creation of a five-acre campus farm, along with field trips and plans to build a greenhouse this fall so that the curriculum can carry on while the ground is covered in snow.

The two-year program is set up for students to transfer directly to Montana State University for further education.

Agriculture is an important part of our local cultural heritage, and there are now viable and visible means of support to ensure that it will continue to be important in the future.

Agriculture is alive and well in the Flathead Valley!

Editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily Inter Lake’s editorial board.