About the Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Foundation
Our Purpose
RMF is committed to promoting a more complete understanding of agriculture and building upon Charles Valentine Riley’s legacy as a “whole picture” person with a vision for enhancing agriculture through scientific knowledge. That is the theme of all our programs and activities. Founded in 1985, RMF recognized that agriculture is the most basic human endeavor and that a vibrant and robust environmental-resource system is essential for human progress and world peace.
Firm Foundation
In 1986, RMF laid a firm foundation upon which to build future programs by sponsoring the national agricultural forum on the “Health of the Land and Its People.” That foundation is reflected in selected quotes from the forum participants:
"Agriculture touches all aspects of human activity and it provides the leverage to lift society to greater heights."
– John Gordon, Founding President, Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Foundation
"Now is the time for all of us to recall just how noble and important it is to care for the land and to broaden our horizons about the social benefits of farming."
– William Reilly, Conservation Foundation
"Without a stable food supply, I assure you that there will be neither peace, nor human progress."
– Norman Borlaug, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Texas A&M University
The Creation of RMF
In 1985, the members of the advisory group that led to the founding of RMF came from a relatively wide array of disciplines, organizations and backgrounds.
During the course of their meetings, the group came to appreciate that Charles Valentine Riley was considerably more than a pioneering entomologist and realized that his larger vision was not broadly recognized or understood
They found that their individual explanations and perspectives of agriculture all differed in important respects. For example, was agriculture only the food and fiber production system? Where were water, air and open spaces?
The group came to see that the lack of a common and easily understood picture of agriculture was both a challenge and an opportunity to honor Professor Riley by further articulating and promoting his vision. It was a rigorous challenge.
If the experts couldn’t explain agriculture to each other, how could they expect the typical citizen, an urban or suburban dweller with no connection to a farm or the rural landscape, to understand it?
Understanding and communicating the nature of agriculture in its broadest sense emerged as a strong framework for memorializing Riley.
Wide-Ranging Programs
Following that first forum, RMF has been involved in a wide range of program activities that have contributed much to the understanding of the many diverse views about the role of agriculture in society.
However, there continues to be a need for society to understand better the importance of taking a “whole picture,” science-based approach.
This approach is needed to ensure that there is a vibrant, robust food, agricultural, forestry and environmental-resource system in the United States and throughout the world to benefit all humanity.
Emilie Wenban-Smith Brash presents a check to USDA’s Secretary of Agriculture John Block in 1984 as a gift from the Catherine Vidalia Riley Trust to be used to honor Charles Valentine Riley
A Tribute to Riley’s Granddaughter
Numerous individuals have contributed to RMF and have helped honor Charles Valentine Riley since 1985. However, with the death of Riley’s granddaughter in 2015 it is important that RMF recognize her with A Tribute to Emilie Wenban-Smith Brash: Granddaughter of Charles Valentine Riley.