Wendell Berry Quotes

Anything to do with the land, I love.

The Lord grant we may all be tillers of the soil.

I look upon the introduction of guano, and the success attending its application to our barren lands, in the light of a special interposition of Divine Providence, to save the northern neck of Virginia from reverting entirely into its former state of wilderness and utter desolation. Until the discovery of guano—more valuable to us than the mines of California—I looked upon the possibility of renovating our soil, of ever bringing it to a point capable of producing remunerating crops, as utterly hopeless. Our up-lands were all worn out, and our bottom-lands fast failing, and if it had not been for guano, to revive our last hope, a few years more and the whole country must have been deserted by all who desired to increase their own wealth, or advance the cause of civilization by a proper cultivation of the earth

Dirt's a funny thing,' the Boss said. 'Come to think of it, there ain't a thing but dirt on this green God's globe except what's under water, and that's dirt too. It's dirt makes the grass grow. A diamond ain't a thing in the world but a piece of dirt that got awful hot. And God-a-Mighty picked up a handful of dirt and blew on it and made you and me and George Washington and mankind blessed in faculty and apprehension. It all depends on what you do with the dirt. That right?

That dark laboratory we call the soil.

Illinois surpasses every other spot of equal extent upon the face of the globe in fertility of soil and in the proportionable amount of the same which is sufficiently level for actual cultivation.

The production of natural resources in agriculture, forestry and fisheries, stable natural hydrological cycles, fertile soils, a balanced climate and numerous other vital ecosystem services can only be permanently secured through the protection and sustainable use of biological diversity.

The Inhabitants of Carolina, thro' the Richness of the Soil, live an easy and pleasant Life.

In fact, because of their connection to the land, farmers do more to protect and preserve our environment than almost anyone else. They are some of the best environmentalists around.

No part of the world can be truly understood without a knowledge of its garment of vegetation, for this determines not only the nature of the animal inhabitants but also the occupations of the majority of human beings.

Buildings, too, are children of Earth and Sun.

Soil erosion is a national menace.

Farmers are farmers in the first place because they have the deep-seated instinct to raise crops, not to cut them back, not to leave the land unproductive.

The land is excellent and agreeable, full of noble forest trees and grapevines, and nothing is wanted here but the labor and industry to render it one of the finest and most fruitful lands …

Is it asked do I yet say colonize Africa? I reply, yes. The surpassing fertility of the African soil, the mildness of the climate during a great part of the year, the numerous commercial advantages, the stores of fish and herds of animals to be found here, invite her scattered children home. As regards myself, I counted the cost of engaging in this service, before I left America. I came to these shores to die, and any thing better than death, is better than I expect.

Land is not merely soil.

If a man farms his land to the waste of the soil or the tress, he destroys not only his own assets but Nature's assets.

Drop a grain of California gold into the ground, and there it will lie unchanged until the end of time; ... drop a grain of our blessed gold [wheat] into the ground and lo! a mystery.

Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed

We have to stop treating soil like dirt.

The great cities rest upon our broad and fertile prairies.

If we didn't have a sustainable agriculture industry, who would be paying the then-missing taxes to support our defence, police, roads, airports, elderly, parks, public sporting facilities and much more?

Nature is simply the environment on earth in which man finds himself, and to treat it as a separate being in the image of man is sheer nonsense.

Awareness is key. In the absence of information, none of us know what is happening and what could be jeopardizing our health, our water supply, and our planet.

One reason that birds matter - ought to matter - is that they are our last, best connection to a natural world that is otherwise receding. They're the most vivid and widespread representatives of the Earth as it was before people arrived on it.