California peach farmer reflects on farming, memory and flavors in February 28 ISU speech

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AMES, Iowa -- Iowans weary of the endless winter will enjoy hearing about the more lyrical side of agriculture from David Mas Masumoto, a third-generation Japanese-American farmer from California. In addition to the bountiful fruit harvest on his farm, his life work includes sharing stories of family and the land through "literary farming."

Masumoto will present the 2010 Shivvers Memorial Lecture on "Wisdom of the Last Farmer -- Why Memory Matters: Transformative Farming and Flavors” on Sunday, February 28 at 7 p.m. in the Sun Room of the Iowa State University Memorial Union in Ames.

Masumoto is an award-winning author and raises organic peaches, nectarines and grapes on his 80-acre farm in Del Ray, California. He was chosen to deliver the Shivvers Lecture at ISU because of his affinity for family farming. As he puts it, “We are trying to grow more than produce.” Leopold Center Distinguished Fellow Fred Kirschenmann said, "He is a most creative, sustainable farmer, producing some of the most coveted peaches in California, and also is a prolific writer and wonderful humorist."

The Masumoto farm operation includes a “public” farming aspect as well as the crop and literary outputs. Every year Masumoto hosts an Elberta Peach Tree Adoption program in hopes of educating others about the joy of heirloom produce and the realities of organic farming. (See www.masumoto.com)

"I'm a farmer first and a writer a close second. But stories connect us all," says Masumoto. His eight books include Wisdom of the Last Farmer, Harvesting Legacies from the Land; Epitaph for a Peach, Four Seasons on my Family Farm; Harvest Son, Planting Roots in American Soil; Four Seasons in Five Senses, Things Worth Savoring; and Letters to the Valley: A Harvest of Memories.

The annual lecture series honors John Shivvers, who farmed near Knoxville, Iowa, for many years. It is coordinated by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and co-sponsored by the ISU Chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta Honorary Society for Agriculture and the ISU Committee on Lectures (funded by GSB).

The lecture is open to the public. 

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The Leopold Center was established by the 1987 Iowa Groundwater Protection Act as a research and education center at Iowa State University to develop sustainable agricultural practices that are both profitable and conserve natural resources. Iowa State does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. Vietnam Era Veteran. Any persons having inquiries concerning this may contact the Director of Affirmative Action, 3210 Beardshear Hall, (515) 294-7612.

This page was found at http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/02-08-2010/california-peach-farmer-reflects-farming-memory-and-flavors-february-28-isu-speech on 01/21/2013