Sometimes society (and social media) leads us to believe every question has one right answer, that people are successful all on their own and that big changes happen in a finger snap. But when you're at someone's field day, you have a chance to see that even “small” changes take a lot of thought and investment. Mistakes and disasters happen. Humility, patience and support are necessary for success in the long-term. Knowing this, we don't expect people to leave a field day and change their whole farm (though once in a blue moon that seems to happen!).
Field days are part of the long game – curiosity, collaboration, community. No one expects a field day host to have all the answers. And when 89% of field day attendees agree with the statement.
“I have new questions or ideas to explore based on what I saw and heard at today's event,” we are reminded how vital these events are – that when we create spaces for farmers to connect, we're helping spark thousands of small steps towards resilient farms and communities.
