Russell Libby, a symbol of sustainable agriculture in Maine, died on Sunday at his home in Mount Vernon at the age of 56. His life inspired others to focus on how they, too, could protect the Earth. We can learn from his commitment to leave the state better than he found it.
Through several organizations, Libby helped grow Maine’s organic farming industry by educating many here and elsewhere — primarily about how farmers can make best use of their resources and expand their reach. He made organic farming cool and at the same time provided much-needed pragmatism.
He became involved with the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association after attending the 1977 Common Ground Country Fair. He joined the board in 1983 and became executive director in 1995. Through his years, he pushed for healthy living conditions for people and the planet.
In 1970 there was one farmers’ market, in Portland, Libby said at a TedXDirigo event in 2011. At that time, the nearest supermarket selling whole wheat flour was in Boston. No chefs featured local food.
Now, organic farming is a small but vital part of Maine’s economy. In 2008, the state had the 12th-highest number of organic farms in the country. Now, locally produced food is a selling point for restaurants, and new ideas are springing up, such as community-supported fisheries.
Libby taught this state many lessons. Here are just a few that Mainers can continue to learn from:
1. Tell your story. Telling the story of the food you are eating or growing helps people remember and appreciate it. Libby enjoyed talking about the Black Oxford apples he grew at his home. The type of apple tree originated in Paris, Maine, around 1790 and is known for its ability to stay crisp through the winter months if stored properly.
2. Make a commitment. Consider spending just $10 per week on products from local farmers or craftsmen. Supporting your neighbors’ operations helps them employ workers and expand the local economy.
3. Take personal responsibility. Stop supporting practices you don’t believe in. If you don’t like the idea of farms raising chickens in cramped cages, don’t buy their eggs.
4. Care for the Earth. Even if you’re just growing a few vegetables in your backyard, you can limit fertilizers. You can reuse resources, such as by putting down compost.
5. Keep learning; keep an open mind. There are always opportunities to learn new practices or techniques, as is apparent with the annual courses offered by the Common Ground Education Center. Topics touch on energy efficiency, orchards, woodlots, greenhouses, blacksmithing.
6. Think big. “I’m really not interested in standing over here in the local and organic corner for the rest of my life and waving, ‘Hi, we’re having fun over here.’ I’m really interested in this kind of food being available to everybody under the basic principle: enough for everyone, always,” Libby said at the TedXDirigo talk.
7. Be kind. “That one tree might make / three thousand feet of boards / if our hearts could stand / the sound of its fall,” Libby wrote in his poem “Applied Geometry,” published by the Poetry Foundation.
Libby reminds us of the positive influence one person dedicated to a cause can have. He helped nurture the next generation of farmers and advocated for a more thoughtful approach to the environment. He will be missed, but his teachings will continue. As he knew well, all it takes is one well-cared-for seed to grow and spread.
This man left an important legacy. He must have been a great person to know.
Sorry for his untimely death but another lesson to be passed on to Libby’s flock is not to automatically judge somone or look down on them because they don’t share the enthusiasm for organic or local food production.
It’s not a question of enthusiasm. It is a question of doing what’s right for yourself, your neighbors, and your community. If you buy local and organic you support all three.
I’m sorry you feel that way…..I understand the ‘clubbiness’ within the organic hipster community is off putting. But really, buying local is an economic decision to support small business. Putting in gardens is an exercise in personal independence. One does learn that it costs a fair amount to raise food in a healthy sustainable way. Prices will come down some when more enter the market and transportation costs don’t factor. If you went to the places that produce cheap food for Walmart, you wouldn’t want to live or raise children there.
Ever hear the third pig in line squeal when he figures out what is going on ahead of him/her at the slaughter house? Doesn’t matter if your pork came from next door or Smithfield, VA, if you had to see how your pork chops were made, you prob wouldn’t eat them. That being said, buy local when you can, but it gets difficult this time of year to find Maine Oranges.
What a thoughtful commentary about the power of a life meaningfully lived. This is one man who truly made his mark. He will be deeply missed.
“We can learn from his commitment to leave the state better than he found it.”
Well played, sir!
I had the privilege of working with Russ to help a number of small family farming enterprises with business planning. From the first meeting with a small Hancock County farm I was impressed by his intellect, his compassion and his ability to frame a discussion in the most useful terms. He remains one of the smartest people I have ever worked with.
The state is forever changed for his work. Organic farming is not a nebulous thing lacking in definition and meaning. There are standards and models and practices that have elevated this sector of our economy in powerful and positive ways. One can now buy an organic product that was produced in Maine and know that there were standards of sustainability and care, these are credits to his work.
MOFGA will continue on, as will many of the farms that sought his guidance. We are all richer for having been inspired by such a man. In his honor, support a local organic farm.