Bayer, a German pharmaceutical and chemical company, recently purchased Monsanto, a U.S. seed company. With this monopolizing purchase, inquiries were raised about the impending future effects on our local agriculture.

According to Heather Sahli, Shippensburg University associate biology professor and campus farm adviser, diversity in business practices is imperative.

“Whether we’re talking about biodiversity, crop diversity, cultural diversity or diversity in suppliers. I can’t speak to Bayer’s practices, but having one company supplying so much of agriculture’s seeds and chemicals gives them a lot of power. It also puts less buying power in the hands of farmers,” Sahli said.

With Shippensburg being an agriculturally-centered area, this purchase and monopolization could affect local farms and suppliers. In turn, this could also affect the SU Dining Services and the campus farm.

SU has made multiple efforts for the campus to be sustainable through a variety of innovative programs. By working with the community, SU Dining Services reduces its impact on the environment.

Speaking on behalf of the SU Geography and Earth Science Organization, Mack Hawkins said, “In the coming years, sustainability must be brought to the forefront of the general public's attention. We need to begin to consider how feasible and responsible our individual actions and everyday decisions, if continued, are in the long-term because we must begin to take better care of the environment.”

SU Dining Services promotes ways to eat green by locally sourcing food and products from family farms. There are postings in common food areas endorsing sustainability to students and acknowledging the use of local crops in the university’s dining services.

Viet Dao, the SU Environmental Steering Committee chair, said, “From a social perspective, using local produce will help the local economy and the university.”

According to SU Dining Services, the Pennsylvania Environmental Resource Consortium recognizes it for its efforts naming it Pennsylvania Campus Sustainability Champion.

Along with the dining services, SU also contributes to sustainability through the SU campus farm. This is an area where students can get involved in sustainable agriculture and help make SU more environmentally minded by growing some of their own chemical-free produce. Produce from the campus farm is used by SU Dining Services.

Sahli mentioned that the farm does not use chemical fertilizers, pesticides or insecticides. By avoiding these products, Sahli said the farm is eliminating any contribution to runoff that flows to the nearby Middle Spring Stream, which eventually feeds into the Chesapeake Bay.

“We use compost to fertilize our soil at the farm. We also use netting and crop covers to keep insects and mammals from eating our crops. But, we encourage beneficial insects that will eat the crop pests by maintaining some natural areas at the farm,” Sahli said.

The SU campus farm donates produce they grow to Shippensburg Produce Outreach, an organization providing free fresh produce to Shippensburg residents in need.

To rural areas like Shippensburg, local farms are economically and agriculturally valuable. In Pennsylvania, agriculture is a $32 billion industry with Cumberland and Franklin counties contribute nearly $624 million to it. With the monopolization of Bayer, farming communities run the risk of taking a hit. 

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