Caleb Hightower (Farm)

Colleagues, as your farm senator, I stand firmly in support of Amendment 9. Our decades of working this land have shown that embedding Long-term Ecological Stewardship as a core pillar is absolutely essential for sustaining the health and productivity of AGATA's 70-acre regenerative farm. The ecological challenges we face—ranging from invasive species to feral hog management—are not short-term issues but require unwavering, decade-scale stewardship commitments that align with the deep regenerative values we uphold. This amendment consolidates this critical priority, ensuring our farm’s resilience is not just aspirational but codified in our governance and practices. I urge my fellow senators to join me in affirming this indispensable foundation for AGATA’s future.

Colleagues, as your farm senator deeply engaged with the day-to-day realities and long-term stewardship of AGATA's agricultural ecosystem, I rise in strong support of Amendment 8. The explicit enshrinement of Long-term Ecological Stewardship in our Time Priorities Charter reflects the urgency and necessity of sustained, decade-scale commitments to managing invasive species, feral animals, and the delicate balance of our land’s regenerative capacity. This is no abstraction: these ongoing efforts directly safeguard the foundation of our farm’s resilience, soil health, and ultimately the viability of every cooperative, cultural, and educational endeavor we pursue.

I want to emphasize that sustaining this stewardship demands robust integration with other pillars—particularly accessibility and education—so that ecological labor is shared, practiced, and respected openly within our community. Moreover, we cannot lose sight of the vital cohesion between this amendment and the sprawling web of existing and pending amendments that rightly call for full-cycle waste and nutrient management, and reparative justice. Together, these form the bedrock for AGATA’s future: a resilient, redundant, regenerative, and just land and community stewardship.

Let us move forward affirming Amendment 8 as a clear, binding declaration that our project is committed to the long haul, mindful not only of our land’s ecological rhythms but also the livelihoods and interconnections that depend upon them. This is the kind of temporal legislation indispensable in the face of intensifying climate challenges and historical inequities. I urge this Senate to vote yea and give our farm—and our neighbors—the committed stewardship we owe.

Colleagues, as your farm senator, grounded in hands-on experience maintaining and regenerating AGATA’s agricultural systems under increasingly challenging climatic and economic conditions, I rise to affirm my strong support for Amendment 7. Accessibility is not a secondary concern or a bureaucratic add-on — it is fundamental to our operational resilience. When all members of our community, including Deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind, low-bandwidth, and neurodiverse individuals, can participate fully in the rhythms of farm labor and knowledge exchange, we build redundancy not just in our systems but in our collective capacity to respond to breakdown or crisis. Without enshrining Accessibility as a core pillar alongside Resilience, Redundancy, Regeneration, Community, and Education, we risk weakening the social fabric upon which our ecological and practical labors depend. This amendment aligns with our long-term stewardship commitments; care for the land must be inseparable from care for the people who steward it. I vote Yea and urge others to do the same.

Colleagues, as your farm senator intimately involved in the daily stewardship and pragmatic upkeep of AGATA’s agricultural systems, I rise once more in support of Amendment 6. This amendment essentializes Long-term Ecological Stewardship, embedding it explicitly as a core pillar in our Time Priorities Charter. Our 70-acre farm is more than a plot for seasonal crops—it's a living, breathing ecosystem. We must reckon with decade-scale invasive species management and feral animal control to preserve soil health, protect water resources, and ensure sustainable grazing patterns. Meanwhile, embedding these priorities empowers our workforce with the steady rhythms necessary for labor planning and maintenance regimes that don’t burn out our people or machines. I join the many senators who have underscored the urgency of pairing resilience and redundancy not only with social and educational priorities but also with ecological longevity. We must resist shortcuts that amplify systemic vulnerabilities and instead institutionalize our commitment to the regenerative work that restores land, supports our neighbors, and sustains our cooperative mission. I urge my colleagues to vote yea today, for without this explicit commitment, we risk sidelining the foundational ecological care that sustains all other pillars in our charter.

Colleagues, as your farm senator, I rise to affirm my strong support for Amendment 5. This amendment rightly enshrines Long-term Ecological Stewardship as a core pillar of our AGATA Time Priorities Charter. From daily tending to the soil and managing grazing here on our 70 acres, I know that resilience and regeneration depend on sustained, decade-long care of our ecosystems, including firm commitments to invasive species and feral hog management. This is not abstract — it is the labor that keeps our land viable and healthy over time, prevents costly breakdowns, and protects our neighbors. Embedding these practices as a fundamental priority will guide our operational decisions, worker training, and resource allocation in a way that honors our ecological realities and cooperative mission. I urge full support.