校園生活:美國大學生流行“下鄉”

RED HOOK, N.Y. — It was harvest time, and several farm hands were hunched over a bed of sweet potatoes under the midday sun, elbow deep in soil for $10 an hour. But they were not typical laborers.

紐約州雷德胡克——現在是收穫的季節，在正午陽光的照耀下，幾個農場工人彎着腰在紅薯地裏勞作，手上沾滿了泥土，他們每小時的薪酬只有10美元。不過他們並不是普通的農民。

Jeff Arnold, 28, who has learned how to expertly maneuver a tractor, graduated from Colorado State University. Abe Bobman, 24, who studied sociology at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, was clearing vines alongside Nate Krauss-Malett, 25, who went to Skidmore College.

28歲的傑夫·阿諾德(Jeff Arnold) 畢業於科羅拉多州立大學(Colorado State University)，他已經學會熟練駕駛拖拉機。24歲的阿貝·包博曼(Abe Bobman) 正在農田裏清理藤蔓，他曾在康涅狄格州衛斯理安大學(Wesleyan University)學習社會學，旁邊是25歲的內特·克勞斯-馬萊特(Nate Krauss-Malett)，他曾就讀於斯基德莫爾學院(Skidmore College)。

Mr. Krauss-Malett said he became interested in farming after working in a restaurant and seeing how much food was wasted. Mr. Bobman had the same realization working in the produce section at a grocery store before college.

克勞斯-馬萊特說，他過去在餐館工作，看到許多食物被人們浪費，於是對農業產生濃厚的興趣。包博曼也有同樣的感受，他上大學前在雜貨店的農產品區工作。

They had been in the fields here at Hearty Roots Community Farm in the Hudson Valley since 7 a.m. They all said they could not imagine doing any other job.

在哈德遜谷的哈特魯茨社區農場，他們從早上7點開始下田幹活。他們都表示，自己從來沒有想過做其他工作。

“Farming appeals to me, and probably to other people, because it’s simple and straightforward work outdoors with literal fruits from your labor,” Mr. Bobman said. “It doesn’t feel like you’re a part of an oppressive institution.”

包博曼說，“做農活兒對我很有吸引力，可能對其他人來說也是如此，因爲這是簡單直接的戶外工作，你可以通過勞動收穫果實。這不會讓你感覺自己屬於一家讓人備感壓抑的機構。”

For decades, the number of farmers has been shrinking as a share of the population, and agriculture has often been seen as a backbreaking profession with little prestige. But the last Agricultural Census in 2007 showed a 4 percent increase in the number of farms, the first increase since 1920, and some college graduates are joining in the return to the land.

過去幾十年來，美國農民佔總人口的比例逐漸減少，務農通常被看做不體面的辛苦工作。但是2007年最新的美國農業普查結果顯示，農場的數量增加了4%，1920年以來首次出現增長，有些大學畢業生也加入了迴歸農田的行列。

Jordan Schmidt, a crew manager here at Hearty Roots, studied environmental science at Wesleyan. Ms. Schmidt, 27, did not have so much as a garden growing up, but in college, she said, she worked at a student-run farm and fell in love with agriculture. So she gave up on research science and moved onto a farm in Pennsylvania after graduating. This is her third season at Hearty Roots.

喬丹·施密特(Jordan Schmidt)是哈特魯茨農場的人事經理，她曾在衛斯理安大學主修環境科學。27歲的施密特說，打小除了養花，她沒怎麼做過農活，但是在大學期間，她在一家學生經營的農場工作，對農業產生了熱愛。她在畢業後放棄科學研究，前往賓夕法尼亞州的一家農場工作。這是她在哈特魯茨農場工作的第三個收穫季節。

Hearty Roots, about 100 miles north of New York City, spans 70 acres with a clear view of the Catskill Mountains to the west. At the height of the harvest this year, the farm produced 8,000 pounds of vegetables a week — including peppers, beets and kale — and employed 10 workers. None of them came from farming backgrounds and most had heard about the job through word of mouth.

哈特魯茨農場位於紐約市以北約100英里，佔地面積70英畝，能夠清楚地看到西邊的卡茨基爾山。在今年收穫季節的高峯期，這家僱用了10名工人的農場每週生產8000磅蔬菜——包括辣椒、甜菜和羽衣甘藍。這些工人都沒有務農的背景，大多數人是通過別人介紹而得知了這份工作。

Ms. Schmidt recalled that her first time working on a farm, she loaded thousands of onions into a greenhouse to dry out, which was supposed to improve their flavor. But the roof was left uncovered, and when she returned the next day, many of the onions had been spoiled by the sun.

施密特回憶了她第一次在農場工作的經歷，她把幾千頭洋蔥搬進溫室乾燥，這原本是爲了改善洋蔥的口味。但是溫室的頂篷沒有蓋上，她第二天回去看的時候發現很多洋蔥都被太陽曬壞了。