Is Farming in your DNA? Grow with the times

Did your grandfather inspire you to become a farmer? Mine did, but it took me another forty odd years to recognize it! People often have a link to their passion for CEA from a generational farming background. 

My forefathers were crofters living off the land in whatever way they could in the Hebridean islands off the north-west coast of Scotland. In the Western Isles the land mass is harsh, with rocky terrain, few trees for cover and battered by Atlantic swells. Crofters like my grandfather reared sheep, and the land was cultivated for hard crops like potatoes and turnips.

My summer holidays on my grandfather’s family croft on the Isle of Harris. Imagine trying to cultivate this land? The terrain, as you can see, was like the rocky side of the moon.

I often wonder what my grandfather would make of my way to grow food in my cloning rooms and hydroponic greenhouse. I’m not sure if he would understand, but if he tasted the food I guess he would believe it. Ironically, the inhospitable terrain of the Hebrides would be the ideal place to site a vertical farm, securing food production on the islands. 

Like my grandfather, I have tried to inspire my children with my passion for growing my own food using CEA. My sons have all grown up knowing about hydroponics. Perhaps it will be years before they acknowledge the ideas, but at least they have a grounding in the basics. We must move with the times if we want the future farmers to have the skills to feed themselves and others. They need inspirational leaders to follow, or perhaps just a mom.

Is farming in your DNA? Why don’t you share your story of family farming with us and how you are inspiring the next generation?

Janet Colston PhD is pharmacologist with an interest in growing ‘functional’ foods that have additional phytonutrients and display medicinal qualities that are beneficial to human health. She grows these using a range of techniques including plant tissue micropropagation and controlled environmental agriculture to ensure the highest quality control.