You Are The Expert

What Expert?

No one knows your land like you do and no one knows you like you do.  These are unavoidable truths and they are the foundation of your identity.

 We have been conditioned to believe that subject experts have the most developed understanding of their field of study and the logic is that if we take the advice from each subject expert across the whole of our landscape operation, we will have the optimum scenario of success and functional balance. Unfourtunatly, the opposite is true.  The problem starts with conflicting expert opinion. 

The agricultural expert wants you to focus on profitable production.  This prioritizes chemistry over natural bio-geochemical processes.  The Biodiversity expert wants you to abandon artificial stimulants and control your harvesting  to protect the natural communities on your property.  Making money to survive is not the primary factor in their perspective.  The invasive species biologist is frantically trying to convince you that without immediate and agressive intervention, all will be consumed by the militant alien species who have escaped their native realms only to wreak havoc on your land.   Each of these points of professional view are backed by a staggering mountain of scientific evidence.  

My experience with scientists over the years has informed many land management decisions.  Equally so, my experience with scientists over the years has taught me that a specialist can not operate in a generalist's reality without conflict.  A land manager needs to take a decision on what to do now in the present situation.  Sometimes its chaotic and messy.  We don't always have all the answers and we need to use our best guess informed by our experiences.  Experts, understandably, will not cross over into another field of human knowledge for fear of discrediting their expert qualification.  After all, they make their living being right about their subject by virtue of other like minded experts agreeing with them (Peer Review).  Specialists are not expected to know subjects outside their discipline, they simply externalize the issue outside of their declared field of expertise. This is where the disconnect happens.   As land managers, we need to attempt informed decisions across many fields of study every day.   We don't have the luxury of being able to say "Not my field of study".  If we did, we would suffer the consequences of the marketplace.  The cold, hard realities of the marketplace threshes the grain from the chaff violently and  without prejudice.  

Compartmental knowledge can get you only so far and can be very helpful.  But you have to know when the limited context of a subject expert has gone too far.  It can be intimidating and lonely at times when trying to navigate the management choices for you property. There is always an expert who disagrees with your final choice because they are not you and they do not know your situation.  From a cultural perspective , ignoring an "expert" can erode your confidence as you try to be true to your self and your family while carving out a living from the land.   The stakes can be staggeringly high to a farmer's identity and wellbeing and by extention the farm family.  Making a living from the land is intimately intertwined with family identity.  So how can you know which "right" way is your way?  Only you can be the expert for your land and your unique situation.

Developing a deep and complex awareness of yourself and your landscape through thoughtful actions,  regular observation, and deep reflection will build more than an abundance of knowledge.  Over time, your intimate relationship  with your landscape coupled with experience will give you wisdom.  Wisdom defined as "the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, and good judgment." (Oxford Dictionary)

Photo journaling is ideal for recording your experiences on your landscape. Using well organized photos to meditate on the whole builds unique knowledge of your place. Photos can be shared with future generations to help them build an even richer understanding of life on the land.