My time at DFI has taught me so much about how a farm operates and the intricacies of producing and marketing produce. This knowledge paired well with my other agricultural science courses; in my soils class, I feel like I had a deeper understanding of the material than I would have otherwise. My experience working with soils and the plants that grow in them gave me a tangible experience with the course material that other students did not. In my horticulture class, I had a deeper understanding of the ins and outs of food production than I would have otherwise, and I was able to engage with the class more deeply, not to mention that the labs for this class were at DFI, where I was able to help my fellow students with the typical procedures of the farm. Overall, my time at DFI gave me a leg up in understanding the classes required for my major.

DFI also taught me about farming practices that also keep the environment safe. We used soil positive practices like reducing tillage, maximizing organic matter and organic fertilizers and keeping the soil covered with cover crops and mulch. When preparing beds we would remove only the top parts of the plants and then apply fertilizers like feather meal, compost, and alfalfa meal, as opposed to chemical fertilizers that disrupt the soil ecosystem. I also got to learn about climate positive pest management. We would regularly keep track of the pests we had, how they were spreading, and when to remove a plant if it risked infecting others. In addition to this, I got to help in the application of a mite species that feeds on bindweed, which is a biological control of the weed as opposed to a chemical one, which was a priority at DFI. Of course, I also spent a good deal of my time weeding, with a focus on preventing weeds from going to seed and spreading.

One more thing I learned about and commonly interacted with was the irrigation strategies here at DFI. Our main irrigation strategy is drip irrigation, it is a method that applies water directly and efficiently. This keeps our water use lower than other irrigation methods would allow, as we lose very little water to evaporation. The water usage at DFI is very well monitored and used efficiently, which is, of course, an important practice in a desert ecosystem. The climate friendly practices I have learned at DFI have already found their way into my garden and will assuredly continue into my future endeavors. I aspire to one day own and operate my own farm, and I know I will use environmentally positive practices I have learned here on my own land and in any future agricultural experiences.