Lentil farmers buck big agriculture trends

Montanans have always been independent while still remaining community-minded. 

That’s the argument of Liz Carlisle, a Missoula native, who spoke about her book “The Lentil Underground: Renegade Farmers and the Future of Food in America,” last week at Flathead Valley Community College.

In her book, she follows the story of David Oien, a Conrad farmer who has been fighting against what he considers a “broken” agriculture system since he moved back to the family farm in 1976.

Carlisle follows these “renegade” farmers who rebelled against the mono-crop of wheat in north-central Montana and planted a far less historic crop for the region: lentils.

Oien and Carlisle were introduced by Diane Taylor, board member of Citizens for a Better Flathead, which sponsored the event.

“Growing up in Great Falls in the mid-’70s, I had never heard of a lentil,” Taylor said. “I had some friends who started going meatless one day a week, which seemed like a sin to me. I had no idea of the ramifications.”

Taylor said only after research did she find how damaging to the soil one single commodity crop could be.

Carlisle’s grandmother went through the Dust Bowl and although nitrogen-rich industrial fertilizer is available, the toxins within are more damaging than anything available naturally, she said.

“Lentils are the opposite paradigm,” she said. “They are legumes, so they fix the nitrogen of the soil. They have long-term resilience.”

Her attraction toward lentils as a book subject is not because they are high in protein and fiber but because of what they represent. They are breaking away from the yield maximization of crops, using every chemical in the warehouse to make plants grow.

“Gone are the days of [Secretary of Agriculture] Earl Butz with ‘get big or get out,’” she said. 

Butz encouraged farmers in the 1970s to maximize yields and export crops. Carlisle and Oien say that is not the way to keep a healthy planet and healthy populace.

“When I came back to the family farm in 1976, at 27 years old, it was pretty obvious the farming system was broken,” Oien said. “There was an energy crisis. Farmers were going out of business, farmers were committing suicide and farmers were losing the farm.”

He tells stories of his neighbors being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, possibly a result of the chemicals used to keep a modern farm running.

But it wasn’t sustainable, they claim.

In a November opinion piece in the New York Times, Carlisle argues that this conservative  area of Montana was the last place one might find sustainable, local farming communities caring for the soil and each other. Her experience working with Sen. Jon Tester changed her preconceived notions.

“Here’s this guy with a flattop, a farmer from Big Sandy, Montana, and he is saying the future is lentils,” she said. “Where there’s hippies, there are lentils. But here is Tester growing them.”

A trend toward hyper-local markets on the coasts is taking money out of the pockets of agricultural giants, Carlisle said, but hurting these community-minded farmers who are caring for their family lands.

To learn more about the “renegade” farmers around Great Falls and Carlisle’s book, visit www.lentilunderground.com or www.timelessfood.com.

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.