Every summer, a pack of ducks roams a six-acre rice farm in Vergennes, Vermont. They wade through rice paddies, nibble at undergrowth, and waddle across fields. They’re not just part of the idyllic landscape; they’re working, performing the essential tasks of fertilization and weed control. The ducks are part of a Japanese agricultural technique known as aigamo, and their Vermont home resembles flooded rice paddies found in eastern Asia, particularly those of Japan’s Miyagi prefecture. It may seem random, or out of place to find this scene 6,000 miles away…
