Ryan Dennis

The reality of time isn’t as rigid as it seems. According to Einstein’s theory of relativity, it is affected by various factors, including gravity and speed of motion. Time moves slower at higher elevations – being further from the earth’s pull.

Eight years ago, I stood in line in front of the Vatican. I had a friend living in Italy at the time, and we took the train into Rome. Although we had gotten there early, there were – unsurprisingly – a lot of people ahead of us.

I was able to come to Iceland by convincing the U.S. and Icelandic governments to let me write about what it means to be a dairy farmer on the island.As the end of my time draws near, I’m forced to reflect on how well I’ve answered that question.

It was 9 p.m. when we arrived at the Cowshed Café, but since they knew we were coming, they still waited. I had convinced Matt, a Canadian friend, to go on an “agritourism trip” through Iceland with me.

First, he showed me the sheep – because that barn was the closest. There were about 20 of them, and they stared at me with wide, intrigued eyes. When Árni reached his hand over the gate they all feinted toward it.

The more one reads about agriculture in other parts of the world, the more it seems like the story of farming changes little country to country. From Australia to Belgium, farmers lament the volatile prices and narrow margins.