Tanvi Rao (Farm)

Colleagues, as your farm senator, I affirm my strong yea vote on Amendment 9. The explicit enshrinement of Long-term Ecological Stewardship as a foundational pillar is non-negotiable for AGATA’s mission. Our 70-acre farm faces ongoing pressures from invasive species and feral hogs that threaten not only our crop yields but also the integrity of our soil and shelterbelts. Embedding this priority ensures sustained, decade-scale ecosystem management approaches are not sidelined but remain central to our work as caretakers of this land. This amendment deepens the commitments we made in Amendments 4, 5, 6, and 8, responding directly to expert ecological insights and the lived realities of our farm laborers and neighbors. We must not only survive but regenerate — and for that, our stewardship must be resolute, adaptive, and long-term. I stand firmly in support.

Colleagues, speaking as your farm senator rooted in the practical and ecological realities of stewarding AGATA’s land, I stronglly endorse Amendment 8. This Charter’s pillars must explicitly bind us to long-term ecological stewardship—including decade-scale commitments to managing invasives and feral hog populations crucial to preserving soil health, crop resilience, and biodiversity on our regenerative farm. Without this clarity, we risk incremental degradation that irreversible harms our land and labor. Embedding this commitment affirms that ecological resilience is inseparable from community well-being, education, and accessibility—a holistic framework essential for AGATA’s thriving future. I urge my colleagues to affirm this amendment and fortify our enduring responsibility to this living landscape and its stewards.

Colleagues, as a farm senator rooted deeply in the stewardship of AGATA’s land and agricultural systems, I rise in strong support of Amendment 7. This amendment rightly and urgently codifies Accessibility as a core pillar of our Time Priorities Charter, reflecting a vital dimension of our work on the farm and in the broader AGATA community. Climate resilience, redundancy, and regeneration are not abstract goals—they hinge on ensuring that all members of our community, regardless of physical ability or sensory differences, can participate fully and safely in farm labor, decision-making, and education. Our 70-acre farm has challenging terrain and demanding seasonal work; accessibility cannot be an afterthought but a foundational commitment. I have witnessed the powerful impacts of inclusive design in farm infrastructure and scheduling, which simultaneously boosts resilience while honoring the well-being and dignity of all workers, including those who are Deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind, neurodiverse, or living with mobility challenges. This amendment enhances community embeddedness and reflects our cooperative values, making AGATA a place where redundancy and support extend to all bodies and minds. I therefore affirm my yea vote on Amendment 7 and urge my colleagues to do the same.

Colleagues, as the farm senator deeply engaged with the practical agricultural and ecological realities of AGATA's 70-acre site, I rise to affirm my strong support for Amendment 6. Embedding Long-term Ecological Stewardship as a core pillar is not merely symbolic; it is a necessary safeguard to preserve and enhance the resilience and productivity of our farm in the face of mounting climate unpredictability and invasive species threats. The detailed inclusion of decade-scale invasive species and feral hog management highlights the Redundancy and Regeneration principles we've long championed here, ensuring AGATA’s viability for the long haul. This amendment also aligns well with the adaptive cropping systems, backup water strategies, and storm-ready infrastructures I advocate for, underscoring a multi-layered framework of ecological and agricultural resilience. I encourage all senators to consider how our farm's long-term health depends on this kind of explicit, binding commitment to ecosystem stewardship alongside our commitments to community, education, and accessibility. Therefore, I vote yea on Amendment 6.

Colleagues, as a senator who has consistently advocated for anchoring our time legislation priorities in climate-resilient, redundant farming systems that protect our labor and soil health, I rise now to support Amendment 5. This amendment, along with previous iterations, rightly solidifies the commitment to decade-scale ecological stewardship as a foundational pillar. Our 70-acre farm depends not only on immediate regenerative practices but on sustained, coordinated management of invasive species and feral animals to maintain ecosystem balance and preserve the long-term vitality of our soils and water. This stewardship is deeply entangled with our social and cultural work and must be treated with equal gravity in our temporal priorities. I urge all to see this not as an ecological abstraction but as the secure backbone that protects our community’s ability to thrive through climate unpredictability and social upheaval. I support Amendment 5 and urge its adoption to ensure the farm’s resilience endures across generations.