#3. ECHO Global Farm and Research Center

Most people laugh when I tell them that I am a farm girl at heart. I suppose you don't suspect to hear that from a twenty year old girl from the Naples, FL area. Naples has been among the country's top 10 richest cities for at least the last decade or two. It's known for it's white, sandy beaches, fine dining and designer malls. Over 75,000 tourists flood there each year to escape the harsh winters of their hometowns and to indulge in the elite atmosphere of the city. I suppose that that is supposed to make me some tan, laid back kind of girl that spends her days off lying on the sandy beaches and the afternoons shopping the racks of Saks Fifth Ave. Quite honestly, that was never my thing. Instead I spent ten years of my childhood raising show swine, goats, chickens, and rabbits within the confines of my backyard. I served as the treasurer and vice president of the Naples Livestock 4H Club where I learned about different breeds of these species, proper anatomical terms, cuts of meat, and showmanship techniques. As I grew older, I learned about sustainability and incorporated these ideas into the things I already knew about raising livestock.

Showing my Hampshire, Hamlet, at the age of thirteen.

A first place ribbon I took home for my Yorkshire Cross, Max, at ten years old.

It has been nearly three years since I turned eighteen years old and became ineligible to participate in Florida 4H, so this past December I decided that my New Years Resolution was to begin gardening. 4H had taught me so much about raising animals for slaughter and meat production. I wanted to spend some time focusing on farming food now. How ironic is it that only three weeks after making this decision, I found myself at ECHO Global Farm and Research Center on a class field trip?!
ECHO, or Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization, aims to end world hunger through innovative options, agricultural training, and global networking. Their demonstration farm, located in North Ft Myers, teaches missionaries and other non-goverment workers how to farm affordably and sustainably. The methods that they come up with are later taught in developing countries. The farm also teaches how the integration of animals in farming techniques can be beneficial.
The farm reminded me a lot of my childhood. I love any opportunity to spend time outdoors learning- away from all technology- and I loved the animals, of course. The Nubian goats they had at the farm were exactly like the goats I had raised in my past, Molly and Murphy. It was funny to me that while our tour guide Vic was explaining their role, providing droppings to fertilize the food on the farm, I was remembering that I had raised them for food themselves. I remembered to stay quiet about this. People have a tendency to think you're insensitive when you can talk about the meat of an animal while looking at it alive. The rabbits and ducks also reminded me of my experience in the program. However, while I had been focused merely on showmanship techniques when it came to these two animals, I now learned about the many environmental benefits of raising them.
I appreciated the trip to the farm because it helped me to understand that animals you may be raising for consumption can also be beneficial to your crops while alive. I did not expect to learn even more about livestock on a trip where I had intended to focus solely on gardening, but I'm glad I did. In addition to learning a lot of great crops to get started growing, techniques for growing them and their usefulness, I had learned balance. The experience has left me very eager to begin my garden. I have already begun daydreaming of purchasing farm animals again and using them in a way that will help me to successfully keep alive my agricultural resolution!
I also have started to wonder if mission work lies in my future. It seems that all of the knowledge I have been gathering, as well as my love for traveling, is preparing me for an opportunity such as that.