Some predict the world will forever be more virtual after our experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic. People were forced to communicate virtually in many cases. Some found formats like Zoom were helpful for talking with several people at once.

Some, but not everyone. I’ve talked to people who were in virtual chats with dozens of people who found it difficult to follow the train of thought, with many people talking at once. No doubt, these platforms enjoyed a meteoric boost and will find their fit going forward.

For me, it’s time to bring back the real thing. In a single afternoon recently, I wrote about a postponed field day and cancellation of the 2020 Indiana State Fair, all within a couple of hours. That’s enough to make my blood pressure soar.

At least the field day, to be held at Rick Clark’s farm near Williamsport, Ind., was only postponed — for now — from June 5 to Aug. 28. It’s the Big Pine Creek Watershed field day, showcasing what Rick Clark has done on his farm. Already gaining national recognition, he’s pushing beyond soil health practices and taking multiple steps to make his farm sustainable.

When Big Pine Creek Watershed held a field day there two years ago, more than 250 people showed up. When the original field day date approached this year, Clark was inundated with calls for directions and information from people who didn’t know it was postponed.

Real thing

To me, that says two things. People have real interest in the innovative things both Clark and the Big Pine Creek Watershed are doing. The watershed project has worked with nontraditional ag companies in the past to help fund conservation practices on farms that will make farming more sustainable and cut down on nutrient pollution issues.

There’s a deeper message here, though. People want to get out again — they want to return to normal. They want to kick in the dirt, feel the cover crops and grab hold of a real piece of iron. You can’t do that in a virtual setting. You can hear the words, and many times that’s effective, but if you want the full effect, you need to see it for yourself.

Sometimes you need to be face to face, so you can ask a question when you want to, and not wait in line in some virtual holding pattern. Sometimes you just need to be there to see the passion in a person’s face who believes in what he is talking about. Often, that’s when the passion transfers to you.

As noted, the field day at Rick Clark’s farm is rescheduled for Aug. 28. Let’s hope it happens this time. In fact, let’s hope many other field days happen before that one. Every growing season is different, and there are things to see and learn every year.

But learning all there is to learn means being there to see it, hear it, feel it and experience the full effect. Call me old-fashioned, but face-to-face encounters shouldn’t be replaced. If we must modify how we do them temporarily to be safe, that’s one thing. Canceling them or abandoning them going forward is another thing altogether.

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