While there are many who may claim to be philosophers of agriculture due their agricultural research output, what is really the distinct ways of identify a philosopher of agriculture? Agricultural scientists may not be necessarily philosophers, but some of them may be doing philosophy unknowingly or knowingly. To further specify the issue, how could we qualify a farmer as a philosopher? Some instances would tell that farmers are considered to be wise; it's just that the academic world won't qualify them.
Hi Beljun,
I would say: Virgil (Roman poet). He wrote the Georgics, which is a classic manual of agricultural practices. Most recent agriculture philosophers in my opinion are: Masanobu Fukuoka (Japan) author of The One Straw Revolution. The Organic farming movement expanded in the 2oth century worldwide because of this book. Then, I think Rudolph Steiner (Austria). He was an anthroposophist. Wrote about agriculture and is considered the "father" of biodynamic farming". Another one is Bill Mollison (Australia). Mollison is the "father" of permaculture design of which agriculture plays a major role. Also Wes Jackson (former director of The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas). He envisioned a sustainable agriculture that shifts from cultivating annual crops to perennial species. These are the first names that came to mind when reading your question. All the best!
The scientific method is based in observation. Farmers experiment all the time to optimize their agricultural systems, adapting and incorporating technological advancement (no technology per se). Would that qualify farmers as philosophers? perhaps no, but they are a source of infinite knowledge, I always take notice of what they ask me and why they are asking me a specific question. In fact, I cannot rule out that they influence many of the known innovations that we see on the field today.