Undergraduate
Jesse Tolz (left) started Vida farm in Ghent, N.Y., in 2014. He emails, “Vida tests agricultural assumptions. I’m flying solo in this pursuit, experimenting with the possibilities of a permanent cover crop with minimal till, no conventional or organic pesticides, no irrigation, and a completely direct-seeded farm system. In addition to growing plants for flower arrangements and consumption, I breed plants to save seeds as another revenue stream. More important, breeding is a prime method to produce enhanced and resilient crops. Andrew Lawrence ’08 and I are shown in one of my fields, tasting edible flowers that I sell to restaurants.”