MEET THE FARMER: Gail Myers & Will Scott Jr.

An Article from our partners Farmers Footprint

But what is rhythm?

Websters will tell you it’s a strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound. Gail Myers, co-founder of Farms to Grow, Inc., Air Force Veteran, filmmaker, cultural anthropologist, NAFSN’s former leadership circle chair, and activist for black farmers, will tell you there is a rhythm of the land that is uniquely understood by those who participate in stewardship of this finite resource.

”The rhythm of the land can’t be captured in words. It’s the snap of the corn in the field. It’s the crack of a ripe watermelon falling to the ground. The sound of bare feet or boots walking through tall weeds. It can be heard and felt only when we are in-tune with nature.”

IMPACT SPOTLIGHT:

Will Scott Jr
Scott Family Farms

One of the farmers Farms To Grow has supported is William Scott Jr, a farmer who got his start working in the fields at an early age. His grandfather was a sharecropper and his father picked grapes and cotton in California’s Central Valley.

When Will was growing up, everyone told him to get an education to create a life for himself beyond the fields so once he moved to California from Oklahoma in 1952, he dedicated his efforts to school. After two years of college he went into the US Navy and then spent 30 years working for a corporate telephone company, but always felt farming was written in his DNA. Upon retirement, he got into gardening, then farming and, ultimately, farming advocacy. Today, he is on a mission to keep the legacy of African American farmers alive. Will was impassioned by the efforts of the Pigford case against the USDA – the same case that sparked Gail’s interest. They met and Will became a part of the Freedom Farmer’s Market started by Gail and Farms to Grow. Both Will and Gail were forces of change. They went outside of the system to create a new distribution channel for Black farmers to sell their produce and reach the community. Will has dedicated 16 acres of his farm for training young people teaching the intricacies of farming and cultivating a love for the land.

Learn more about Will Scott Jr here.

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